QUIRINO MEMORIAL MEDICAL CENTER EXPERIENCE: Accepting the challenge of change by Donna Miranda

The Quirino Memorial Medical Center (QMMC), formerly known as the “labor “ hospital in Quezon City, was among 51 government-run hospitals included in a comprehensive study on prevailing newborn care practices in the Philippines starting November, 2008. In hindsight, Dr. Belle Vitangcol, head of QMMC’s pediatrics department and lead ENC trainor, remembers this as the starting point of a whirlwind that in barely one year’s time would sweep away many traditional practices and attitudes in the delivery room, and usher in a radically different regimen on essential newborn care. Even before researchers backed by he Department of Health and the...

Read more »

Are Newborn Care Practices Done Properly within the First Hour of Life? A Survey on 51 of the Largest Hospitals in the Philippines

The Philippines is one of 42 countries accounting for 90 percent of all global deaths in children under 5 years of age with 82,000 Filipinos die before reaching their 5th birthday. There are also over 40,000 newborns who die annually. And if newborn mortality is not reduced by half, the goal of reducing childhood mortality by two thirds, which is part of the Millennium Development Goals, will not be met. In a study of consecutive deliveries in 51 of the largest hospitals in 9 regions in the Philippines, an assessment tool developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a standard in Newborn Care which included the evidence-based intervention,...

Read more »

UnangYakap Embraces 8,962 Healthcare Professionals

Dr. Mianne Silvestre, EINC Team Convenor and WHO Consultant, reports that at least 8,962 healthcare professionals are now aware or knowledgeable in essential intrapartum and newborn care (EINC) practices. We believe this means that mothers and newborns will benefit from safer, quality care from these health facilities. “From October to May 2011, we tripled our goals when requests for the EINC training course, spontaneously came from private hospitals (12%) and public hospitals in provinces outside NCR (6%). The biggest chunk of awareness still comes from those who attended lectures of our EINC team or talks provided at special forum (53%)....

Read more »

Drop in Maternal and Newborn Deaths marks 8th week of EINC in General Santos City

Dr. Orlando Marius Oco Jr., Chairperson of the Local Health Board of General Santos City said they were encouraged by the feedback that there has been a dramatic drop in the NICU admissions, decreasing rates of preterm and sepsis deaths and an overall decrease in maternal and newborn deaths after 8 weeks of implementation of the EINC Scale Up Project. Dr. Oca said this as he welcomed the participants, project staff, conveners and resource speakers of the orientation workshop on Essential Intrapartum and Newborn Care last May 25, 2011.Dr. Oca cited the recent world health report which seeks to make every mother and child count. The United Nation...

Read more »