DOH urges midwives to focus more on pregnancy, childbirth

1st CALABARZON MIDWIVES’ SUMMIT. Department of Health Region IV-A (Calabarzon) Director Eduardo C. Janairo welcomes some 254 midwives from Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon in the first-ever summit, themed “Empowering Midwives, Building Healthier Lives”, held at the tent of the Midas Hotel in Pasay City on Monday. The summit is in line with DOH IV-A’s Health roadmap ‘Towards Calabarzon Prime’, aimed at providing a more efficient, effective and sustainable health care in the region. (PNA photo by Gladys S. Pino)

MANILA – Department of Health (DOH)-Calabarzon Regional Director Eduardo C. Janairo on Monday urged midwives to focus their health care services more on pregnancy and child birth to at least reduce maternal/childbirth deaths in the country.

Addressing some 254 midwives from Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon during the two-day Midwives Summit held at the tent of the Midas Hotel in Pasay City, which ended Tuesday, Janairo said the country’s midwives, regarded as the ‘first line of defense’ of rural/village folks for health concerns, are handling various Department of Health (DOH) programs which make them loose their focus on child birth health services.

“This might be the reason why we can’t control our maternal/childbirth deaths and the depleting number of midwives,” he said.

Janairo said the midwives’ focus should be re-centered to problems on pregnant mothers and child birth, “like are they (mothers) into newborn screening?

Are child bearing mothers getting the proper nutrients and health care?

Although health programs should remain part of the midwives’ concerns, “it should no longer be part of your report and let you focus on your work as midwives,” Janairo said.

The first ever DOH-initiated summit held for Calabarzon midwives was aimed to capacitate the health workers’ through knowledge and facilities upgrade, “and discuss how we can creatively work together” by addressing ground concerns, including the needed facilities and equipment.

The midwives are the last of the group of health workers mobilized by the DOH Regional office (Pediatrics/Doctors in public and private came first, followed by barangay health workers or BHWs, and last for the nurses) in line with the health roadmap: “Towards CALABARZON Prime,” authored by Janairo aimed at provding a more efficient, effective and sustainable health care delivery in the Calabarzon community.

“Its about network development, servicing priority to the people of Calabarzon especially to those who need it most,” Janairo said.

“You make it (the region) a prime, (that means) you have the right accessibility, the right equipment aside from the facilities, the right service referral system, kahit sino, namundok ka, nagkasakit ka o naaksidente, me sasalo sayo dapat (it applies to all, even if you go to the mountains, if you get sick or be involved in an accident, you have someone to rely on),” Janairo said.

The summit had DOH officer in-charge (OIC) Undersecretary for Public Health Service Team Myrna C. Cabotaje as guest-of-honor and keynote speaker during the opening day on Monday.

Cabotaje said the summit is also the DOH’s way “of thanking and appreciating all your (midwives) efforts as partner of the DOH in implementing various health programs at the grassroots level.”

The summit’s theme: “Empowering Midwives, Building Healthier Lives” connotes working together “to make the health systems work through strengthening our service delivery,” Cabotaje said.