SAFE MOTHERHOOD PROGRAM

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
What is Safe Motherhood Program?
Safe motherhood is one of the important components of
Reproductive Health. It means ensuring that all women receive
the care they need, to be safe and healthy throughout pregnancy
and childbirth. It is the ability of a mother to have safe and
healthy pregnancy and childbirth.
Vision:
For Filipino women to have full access to health
services towards making their pregnancy and delivery
safer.
Mission:
Guided by the Department of Health FOURmula One Plus thrust
and the Universal Health Care Frame, the National Safe
Motherhood Program is committed to provide rational and
responsive policy direction to its local government partners in the
delivery of quality maternal and newborn health services with
integrity and accountability using proven and innovative
approaches.
Objectives:
Local health officials emphasized the importance of pregnant
women having monthly check-ups to detect any risks associated
with pregnancy and prevent complications arising during childbirth
as they continue to raise awareness about Department of Health
(DOH)’s Safe Motherhood Program.
The program's main objective is to ensure that Filipino women will
have full access to quality maternal health care services so they
will have a safer pregnancy and delivery of their child.
The Program contributes to the national goal of improving
women’s health and well-being by:
1. Collaborating with Local Government Units in establishing
sustainable, cost-effective approach of delivering health
services that ensure access of disadvantaged women to
acceptable and high quality maternal and newborn health
services and enable them to safely give birth in health facilities
near their homes
2. Establishing core knowledge base and support systems that
facilitate the delivery of quality maternal and newborn health
services in the country.
Program Components
Component A: Local Delivery of the Maternal–Newborn Service
Package
This component supports LGUs in establishing and mobilizing
the service delivery network of public and private providers to
enable them to deliver the integrated maternal-newborn service
package.
In each province and city, the following shall continue to be
undertaken:

1. Establishment of critical capacities to provide quality maternal-

newborn services through the organization and operation of a
network of Service Delivery Teams consisting of:

a) Barangay Health Workers

b) BEmONC Teams composed of Doctors, Nurses and Midwives

2. In collaboration with the Centers for health Development and
relevant national offices: Establishment of Reliable Sustainable Support
Systems for Maternal-Newborn Service Delivery through such
initiatives as:

a) Establishment of Safe Blood Supply Network with support from

the National Voluntary Blood Program
b) Behavior Change Interventions in collaboration with the Health
Promotion and Communication Service
c) Sustainable financing of maternal - newborn services and
commodities through locally initiated revenue generation and
retention activities including PhilHealth accreditation and
enrolment.
Component B:  National Capacity to Sustain Maternal-Newborn
Services

1. Operational and Regulatory Guidelines

a) Identification and profiling of current FP users and
identification of potential FP clients and those with unmet
need for FP (permanent or temporary methods)
b) Mainstreaming FP in the regions with high unmet need for FP
c) Development and dissemination of Information, Education
Communication materials
d) Advocacy and social mobilization for FP
2. Network of Training Providers
a)31 Training Centers that provide BEmONC Skills Training
3. Monitoring, Evaluation, Research, and Dissemination with support
from the Epidemiology Bureau and Health Policy Development and
Planning Bureau
b)Monitoring and Supervision of Private Midwife Clinics in
cooperation with PRC Board of Midwifery and Professional
Midwifery Organizations
c) Maternal Death Reporting and Review System in collaboration
with Provincial and City Review Teams
d)Annual Program Implementation Reviews with Provincial Health
Officers and Regional Coordinators
Partner Institutions
 Local Government Units
 Development Partners
Policies and Laws:
Republic Act No. 10354: Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Law (RPRH Act of
2012)
1. Administrative Order 2008-0029: Implementing Health Reforms to Rapidly Reduce
Maternal and Neonatal Mortality
2. Department Order 2009-0084: Guidelines Governing the Payment of Training Fees relative
to the Attendance of Health Workers to Basic Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care Skills
Training Course at Duly Designated Training Centers
3. Administrative Order 2011-0011: Establishment of Basic Emergency Obstetric and
Newborn Care Training Centers in Regional Hospitals and Medical Centers
4. Administrative Order 2015-0020: Guidelines in the Administration of Life Saving Drugs
During Maternal Care Emergencies by Nurses and Midwives in Birthing Centers
5. Administrative Order 2016-0035: Guidelines on the Provision of Quality Antenatal Care in
All Birthing Centers and Health Facilities Providing Maternity Care Services
6. Administrative Order 2018-0003: National Policy on the Prevention of Illegal and Unsafe
Abortion and Management of Post-Abortion Complications
Program Accomplishments/Status:
The Department of Health through the National Safe Motherhood
Program shall continue to update its strategies to address critical
reproductive health concerns including control of sexually
transmitted infections and mother to child transmission of HIV while
confronting both demand and supply side obstacles to access for
disadvantaged women including indigenous women of reproductive
age.
Among the changes, the following have been systematically
mainstreamed into the safe motherhood service delivery network
(BEmONC-CEmONC network):
A. Strategic Change in the Design of Safe Motherhood Services
These changes involve (1) a shift in emphasis from the risk approach that
identifies high-risk pregnancies during the prenatal period to an
approach that prepares all pregnant for the complications at childbirth –
this change brought about the establishment the BEmONC – CEmONC
network within the bigger Service Delivery Network (SDN), (2) improved
quality of FP counseling and expanded service availability of post-partum
family planning in hospitals and primary birthing centers and (3) the
integration of cervical cancer, syphilis, hepatitis B and HIV screening
among others into the antenatal care protocols.
 Action Point and Timelines:
• Continuous advocacy on:
a) Importance of ANC and Facility Delivery is on-going at LGU level;
b) National and regional advocacy every 2nd week of May, the safe
Motherhood week with support from the Health Promotion and
Communication Service
 Continuous implementation of policies passed at LGU Health Systems
 Implementation of AO 2016-0035 on the Provision of Quality
Antenatal Care
• On-going
• Distribution of ANC Tarpaulin within the last quarter of 2018
• Distribution of ANC Policy Implementation Manual by 2019
B. An Integrated Package of Women’s Health and Safe
Motherhood Services
The above changes in service delivery also involved a shift from
centrally controlled national programs operating separately and
governed independently at various levels of the health system to
an LGU governed system that delivers an integrated women’s
health and safe motherhood service package. This service delivery
strategy is focused on maximizing synergies among key services
that influence maternal and newborn health and on ensuring a
continuum of care across levels of the referral system.
At the ground level, this implies that a woman, whatever her age and specially if
she is disadvantaged, who seeks care from a public health provider for
reproductive health concerns, could expect to be given a comprehensive array
of services that addresses her most critical reproductive health needs.
 Action Points and Timelines
• Culture and gender sensitive service delivery provision by LGU Health
Systems is on-going
• Updated AO 2008-0029 (MNCHN Policy) draft by last quarter of 2018
 The update involves the expansion of MNCHN to RMNCAHN
(Reproductive Maternal Newborn Child Adolescent Health and
Nutrition)
C. Reliable Sustainable Support Systems
Support systems for Maternal-Newborn service delivery is anchored
on Philhealth accreditation of birthing centers and individual
membership or enrolment into the Sponsored Program. This
mechanism ensures sustainable financing of quality maternal-
newborn services efficiently eliminating out-of-pocket expenditures
for antenatal, facility delivery and postnatal care. The system
likewise includes systems for safe blood supply and stakeholder
behavior change, through a combination of advocacy and
interpersonal communication during clinic visits.
 Action Points and Timelines
• Continuous application and renewal of PhilHealth
accreditation by Birthing Centers
• Continuous enrolment of poor families to PhilHealth
Sponsored Program by LGUs
• Establishment of Safe Blood Supply Network in
collaboration with the National Voluntary Blood Services
Program is on-going
D. Stronger Stewardship and Guidance from the DOH Program
Manager and Regional Coordinators
DOH provides stewardship and guidance through (1) evidence-
based guidelines and protocols on maternal - newborn services;
(2) a system for recognizing providers of emergency obstetrics
and newborn care (BEmONC) training program; and (3)
monitoring, evaluation and research on the new maternal-
newborn strategies.
 Action Points and Timelines
• Conduct of Maternal Death Surveillance and Response is on-going at
Provincial and City Health Systems is on-going
a) Conduct of National MDSR Forum every 2 years. The second national
forum shall be conducted in 2019 (the first was conducted in 2017)
b) Conduct of 4 Regional Maternal Death Surveillance and Response
(MDSR) Fora every 2 years (2018, 2020, etc)
c) Drafting and passage of relevant policies with MDSR results as basis:
 National Policy on the Provision of Birthing Assistance of Primigravid
and Multigravid Women is targeted to commence implementation
by 2019.
 Establishment of Safe Motherhood Program Monitoring and Evaluation
System in collaboration with Epidemiology Bureau and Health Policy
Development and Planning Bureau by 2019
Program Accomplishments/Status:
The Program shall continue to monitor the implementation of its policies
and evaluate effectiveness in improving maternal outcomes and
consequently translate these to maternal and newborn mortality
reductions. LGUs shall be continuously encouraged to address local health
system’s gaps identified during maternal death reviews.
Relevant policies that responds to maternal needs have been passed that
include among others for 2018, the policy of prevention of illegal and
unsafe abortions and management of post – abortion complication.
Implementation of this policy is expected to reduce maternal death by at
least 21%. The Program shall continue to pass policies based on death
review results.
To date, 95% of Birthing Centers have teams trained on basic emergency
obstetric and newborn care.