MATERNAL experts collectively push for stronger maternal health programs and policies that promote healthier pregnancies and safer births.
During the Health Connect forum on Thursday, the Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Association of the Philippines (PHAP) emphasized the need to pass the bill to safeguard the health of Filipino mothers and address the gap in safe motherhood.
Senate Bill No. 1416, or “An Act Safeguarding the Health of Filipino Mothers at the Time of Their Childbirth,” was filed in 2022 and is currently being deliberated for approval in Congress.
Teodoro Padilla, PHAP executive director, stressed the urgent need for collaboration across multiple sectors to protect mothers and babies from vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs).
“When we invest in maternal health, we invest in the potential of future generations,” Padilla said, noting that this leads to enhanced maternal and neonatal health outcomes.
Padilla cited a Philippine Statistics Authority report in 2023 revealing 1,868 maternal deaths or five mothers each day, highlighting the risks that could have been prevented with access to quality prenatal, childbirth, and postpartum care.
Dr. Martha Millar-Aquino, president of the Philippine Infectious Diseases Society for Obstetrics and Gynecology, stressed the need to push Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis) and flu vaccines during pregnancy.
“Expectant mothers experience immune changes that increase their risk of severe flu and other respiratory infections,” she said, stressing the importance of these vaccines to help mothers develop antibodies passed to their babies, protecting infants during their first months.
Dr. Lulu Bravo, Philippine Foundation for Vaccination (PFV) executive director, reiterated that vaccination is a cost-effective measure for expectant mothers.
“Vaccination is the most effective tool we have to protect health at every stage of life, especially during pregnancy,” she stressed.
The Health Connect Forum on Thursday was organized by the PHAP, PFV, and the Philippine Medical Association. It aligned with the Department of Health’s Safe Motherhood Program and the WHO’s Sustainable Development Goal 3, which aims to reduce global maternal mortality to fewer than 70 per 100,000 live births by 2030.
