Health programs from different regions decry DOH’s “No Home Birthing Policy” as mere smokescreen of the sorry state of maternal and neonatal health

(Quezon City, Philippines) NGOs and Community Health Workers from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao are outraged by the decentralized implementation of DOH Administrative Order 2008-0029 “Implementing Health Reforms for Rapid Reduction of Maternal and Neonatal Mortality” more popularly known as the “No Home Birthing Policy.” Community Based Health Programs (CBHP) all over the Philippines cited Quezon City, Manila, Nueva Ecija, Bicol, Iloilo, Zamboanga, and CARAGA among others that have local ordinances prohibiting home births. Upon knowing that they gave birth at home, some mothers were even prevented from registering the birth of their newborns.

They said that the policy “narrows public health care” and “gears government health service to privatization and profit.”

In Iloilo, a pregnant mother had to endure 16 hours of grueling rough road travel just to reach the “nearest” birthing facility. The same ordeal is true with the provinces of Nueva Ecija, Bicol, Iloilo, Zamboanga, and CARAGA.

CBHPs pointed out that the government is not ready to accommodate all births in facilities because its health human resources are low and infrastructures are scarce and can only be found in cities, town centers, and provincial centers. For the 42,028 barangays, there are only 17,000 Barangay Health Stations that have very few or no health personnel, lack equipment, medicines and supplies.

They also decried Philhealth’s promise of “free delivery” or “no balance billing” which is just a smokescreen of different charges in the birthing facility/hospital and professional fees. Philhealth only covers a mere fraction of hospital/facility bills and “does not eradicate out-of-pocket expenses” of patients. A midwife who worked for a private lying-in clinic in Metro Manila divulged that on top of Philhealth’s Maternity Care Package (MCP) amounting to P8,000 for normal spontaneous delivery, the facility charges an additional P7,500 for the professional fee of the OB-Gyn doctor or P5,500 as professional fee of the midwife.

They said that based on Philhealth’s Geographic Information System, the MCP covers 539 facilities in 14 regions (there is no available data for Region XI). The CBHPs said that this data translates to 1 MCP facility available to a staggering 78 barangays.

They are campaigning for the recall of the DOH’s “No Home Birthing” policy because this will just increase maternal and neo-natal mortality by prohibiting Community Health Workers and traditional birth attendants or hilot from doing what they have done for decades sans government support -- bridge the gaps in health care delivery by being at the frontline of people’s health.

Community Based Health Programs (CBHP) promote alternative health system, train Community Health Workers, and work for people’s empowerment.

Sixty (60) CBHP members representing different provinces in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao are in Quezon City to attend the 3-day 11th General Assembly of Council for Health and Development (CHD) with the theme “Ipagbunyi ang 40 taon ng CBHP! Higit pang palakasin ang CBHPs para sa ibayong paglilingkod sa sambayanan!” (Celebrate the 40 years of CBHP! Further strengthen the CBHPs for greater service to the people!). Council for Health and Development is the national organization of Community Based Health Programs in the Philippines.

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References:


Marcelinda Tambalque
Community Health Worker, Traditional Birth Attendant
Nueva Ecija Community Health Workers Association
Carranglan, Nueva Ecija

Grace Cuasay
Registered Midwife, Director of Health Education and Training
Council for Health and Development