High-Risk Pregnancy Assistance

The 2018 Motherhood Conference talks about the Safe Motherhood Initiative wherein maternal health is the focus. One of the issues that they addressed was reducing maternal deaths and childbirth-related complications, and they wanted to create a program on its awareness and preventive measures.

The World Health Organization (WHO) released a statement that almost half a million mothers die each year while pregnant or suffer complications during birth. The Safe Motherhood Initiative saw that to reduce the problems on maternal health, they have to:

1. Impose pre-birth screenings and tests on mothers to oversee potential pregnancy-related health risks and then, correct it as early as possible
2. To improve the skills of health workers and staff who handle pregnant women, especially those who are traditional birth attendants
3. Enhance the facilities within the community so that it is ready to assist pregnancy-related complications, as a back-up care
4. Setting up an alarm and transport system

These are intelligent programs by the Initiative and will most likely save the lives of mothers and babies with complications when properly implemented.

Actually, one of these programs has saved the life of my best friend and her little girl. Her pregnancy was difficult at that time due to stress. She was stressed because her husband was womanizing, and during the time that she was pregnant (first trimester), her husband’s mistress has just given birth. And he was attentive to them while she was being neglected.

My best friend almost lost her daughter during the first trimester. She bled, and I had to bring her to the community hospital on an emergency. It was a relief that they had the equipment to cater to her medical needs and that their staff knew what to do on a threatened abortion situation. She sailed through her nine months after that incident. But of course, the doctor told her to stop working and rest at home from month three to month nine so that the baby would be safe. And she did that. After she gave birth, my best friend filed for divorce.

We thanked those who helped my best friend during that time as they saved two lives, hers and my goddaughter’s.