by Paula Nicole A. Zaldivar

BAY, LAGUNA – Pregnant women of Brgys. San Agustin, San Nicholas, Puypuy, and Paciano are all encouraged to go to their respective Barangay Health Center (BHC) to avail the free pre-natal health services for them.

According to Amor Macandile, the midwife for Brgy. San Agustin and San Nicholas, the BHC offers free injection of tetanus toxoid vaccine. Tetanus toxoid is given to expecting mothers during their fifth month of pregnancy to protect the mother and child from complications caused by tetanus.

Aside from tetanus toxoid vaccine, the BHC also distributes ferrous sulfate in tablet form. The ferrous sulfate tablet is given to mothers during their fourth month of pregnancy and is taken until two months after giving birth for mothers to avoid iron deficiency anemia.

On the other hand, Gloria Larios, the midwife for Brgy. Paciano and Puypuy mentioned that they also give Vitamin A to the mothers who just gave birth. It is given to the mothers a month after their delivery to improve the vitamin A content of their breast milk. Vitamin A is essential for the functioning of immune system and proper growth of the baby.

Macandile reiterated the importance of getting these services because they want to avoid complications for the mother and the child as well. Since it is free, she said that there is no harm in going to their respective health centers to have their prenatal checkup and have the said health services.

Another health issue that the Barangay Health Centers try to address is when pregnant women give birth in their own homes or resorting to “hilot”. Larios said that they really try to convince mothers to have their delivery in hospitals or at least in a lying-in clinic. This will avoid the mothers from complications that can happen during delivery. Pregnant women with diabetes, hypertension and high blood are especially in high risk, Larios said.

Despite that, Larios commented that there were improvements in terms of mother’s participation Brgy. Puypuy. Most of the pregnant women are now going to the health center to have their weekly checkup. Thanks to the barangay health worker who monitors and convinces the mothers to go to the center, Larios added.

Larios, being a midwife since 1990, said that she have witnessed the benefits that these projects have given to their people. She is thankful that today, more medicine and immunizations can be offered by the health center.

The schedule of the prenatal checkup is every Monday while the immunization of babies is held every Wednesday at the Barangay Health Centers.

by Paula Nicole A. Zaldivar

The second batch of Mother Class participants from Sitio 5 of Brgy. San Antonio in Bay, Laguna enjoyed a Family Day  on January 21, 2012. The event served as the culminating program for the home-based Mother Classes held every Sunday at the barangay.

The three-hour event included games, a small feast, and the awarding of token of appreciation to the Barangay Health Workers (BHW) who volunteered to become teachers for the the Mother Class.

The games facilitated during the Family Day included a vegetable relay and Pinoy Henyo on health concepts. The activities put to test what the mother-participants and their children learned during their mother class sessions. The mothers were also asked to plan a healthy menu and write recipes for their families. Prizes were given to the winners of each game.

Elizabeth Bargoda, a mother-participant during the Family Day, shared that she had fun during the activity. She said that the Family Day was a good venue for her and her family to bond and enjoy, while at the same time, learn. She, together with her daughter Valerie, was one of the winners of the vegetable relay.

The awarding held at the last part of the program recognized the six Barangay Health Worker volunteers who taught the mothers. There were 50-60 participants of the home-based Mother Class and the volunteers taught at least 10 mothers for each session.

Corazon Sarmiento, one of the recognized health workers, shared that she decided to become a volunteer mainly because she wanted to help in her own little ways. She added that it gave her fulfillment whenever she does her job as a BHW.

Sarmiento explained as well that she and her fellow volunteers were given proper training and lesson so that they will be a credible facilitator for the mother class. They even had workshop in places such as Lucban, Quezon and Batangas, together with the other volunteers of the ChildFund Philippines from the other parts of the country. These workshops and even the mother class program were funded by the Child Fund Philippines.

ChildFund Philippines is a non-government organization which aims to educate and address to the families, communities and the government different children related issues, one of which is health. They conduct seminars and workshops for their volunteers while these volunteers are those who disseminate information and conduct seminars to their local.

ChildFund Philippines was able to reach Brgy. San Antonio through their coordination with Romley Dyamante, the Community Mobilizer of the Barangay Health Center of San Antonio. The NGO provided the modules used during the Mother Classes. They also provided other resources needed for the program.

The Mother Class aimed to educate mothers on ways of taking care of their children in terms of health and knowing their children’s rights. Their topic for their first session was the Convention of the Right of the Child. They emphasized here the right of a born child to be registered and to be known through birth certificate. Their second topic, which lasted for three meetings, was about the Indigenous Cooking Practices. The session also discussed how to avoid preservatives in cooking. The last topic discussed was about Nutritious and Healthy Food. They encouraged the mothers to give and train their children to eat vegetables. They emphasized not just the cooking of vegetables but also growing them in their own backyards,

Merceditas Masarap, one of the participants of the Mother Class, claimed that she learned a lot from the Mother Class. When asked if she was able to apply the concepts and ideas taught to them, she said that she is trying to integrate what she learned slowly. “Di naman agad-agad mababago yun,kelangan dahan-dahan. Pero sinusubukan ko talagang pakainin na sila (referring to her two children) ng gulay  at ayun nga, umiwas na ko sa paggamit ng preservatives.”

Overall, both the participants and the volunteers agreed that the Mother Class was successful. Ria Abuan, one of the BHW, believed that it was successful because they were able to present a range of options for the mothers who joined their sessions. Abuan explained that there were mothers who regretted that they cannot bring their children to popular fastfood chains. After their session about preservatives, however, the mothers were able to realize that it is not really important because there are more healthy foods that they can give to their children.

This recently culminated Mother Class is the second time for the barangay. There were two sessions each month, held every Sunday. It started October 9, last year. They had five sessions until January because they did not hold classes during December.

The volunteers went on each house of Sitio 5 to invite the mothers personally. They intend to resume the Mother Class this coming February, now in a another sitio.