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| Midwives belonging to the IMAP and LOFM Hong Kong chapters pose with Dr Michael Manio, Labatt Jolly de la Torre, and guest speaker Cecilia Santos after the general assembly at the POLO. |
By Vir B. Lumicao
Delivering a baby in a country like the Philippines where 45,000 infants are born each day and private healthcare is beyond the reach of the majority is a huge concern for expectant mothers.
But for overseas Filipino workers who are licensed midwives the dire situation has opened up opportunities.
Cecilia B Santos, former health assistant secretary and now president emeritus of the Philippine League of Government and Private Midwives Inc., says returning OFW midwives could consider setting up their own birthing clinics.
“Sa mga midwives ay napakagandang opportunity ang naghihintay sa kanila sapagkat magkakaroon sila ng pagkakataong magpatayo ng birthing centers,” Santos told The SUN at the general assembly of Hong Kong-based Filipino midwives on Aug. 7.
Santos said the government can help the OFW-midwives reintegrate back home by providing them training and financing to set up their own birthing centers.
The Department of Health provides the professional training that the returning midwives need, and also assists them in complying with the requirements for putting up their birthing centers, Santos said.
Addressing the assembly as guest speaker, Santos emphasized the need for the group to hone their knowledge and skills through continuing professional education so they won’t have problems re-joining the profession later.
She cited the refresher seminars being organized by the Integrated Midwives Association of the Philippines-Hong Kong and the League of Filipino Midwives-Hong Kong as platforms for enhancing their knowledge.
Another seminar of this kind is being planned for September by POLO and the midwives’ associations, Labor Attache Jalilo de la Torre announced before the more than 100 people who took part in the assembly.
It was Labatt De la Torre, Tetchie Blanco, IMAP-HK president Brenda Atrero and LOFM-HK president Juanita Sola who brought the midwives together.
The other speaker at the event was Dr Michael Manio, Hong Kong University professor and founder of the Domestic Workers Empowerment Project, who spoke on mental health, depression and suicide.
Manio urged the midwives-helpers to help identify, through their training, compatriots who show symptoms of mental problems, depression and suicidal tendencies and take preventive measures.
The setting up of privately-run birthing centers is being pushed by the DOH as a solution to the overcrowding in public maternity hospitals, as the country grapples with a 1.61% annual population growth,
Santos said previous owners of birthing centers among the OFWs were given the opportunity to take out loans whose sizes depended on their capacity to repay.
“Tinutulungan po sila na makapagpatayo talaga ng mga inprastruktura,” she said.
She said returning midwives who are interested in putting up birthing centers should secure a permit to operate from the DOH, and comply with space requirements for the facility.
Santos said hundreds of birthing centers are now operating across the country, but with the continuing population boom, the demand for these facilities remains high.
