The City Government of Davao, through the City Health Office (CHO), provided prenatal care to 23,422 expectant mothers in 2024.
Of the 26,867 women who used the CHO’s labor and delivery services, 87.2 percent or 23,422 women had antenatal or prenatal care.
Dr. Sharlene Tan, District Health Physician of the CHO, said during the I-Speak Media forum on Thursday that prenatal care is available in every health center and barangay health station in the city.
She said the services include free supplements like ferrous and folic acid, calcium tablets, Tetanus and Diphtheria vaccine, laboratory screening, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) test.
“Ang atoa’ng bag-o na karon is at least maka-eight prenatal check-ups ang atoang mga buntis (Our pregnant women now should have at least eight prenatal check-ups),” she said.
“Ang wala lang jud namo ang ultrasound which we outsource with the private hospitals (The one thing we don’t have here is ultrasound, which we outsource with the private hospitals),” she added.
She also explained that while prenatal care is free, the laboratory fees require payment which can be covered by PhilHealth.
“Ang sa laboratory nato, for those pregnant with PhilHealth we can use the E-Consulta package. Masulod diri ang CBC (Complete Blood Count), urinalysis, and FBS (fasting blood sugar). Ang payment na lang ang Hepatitis B (test) and ang syphilis test which is minimal as compared to the private (We can use the E-Consulta package for pregnant women who have PhilHealth. The package includes the CBC (Complete Blood Count), urinalysis, and FBS (fasting blood sugar). They only need to pay the Hepatitis B (test) and the syphilis test which has minimal fees compared to private hospitals),” she said.
She said prenatal care is essential in identifying pregnancy problems like diabetes and high blood pressure early on.
“With early prenatal ma-detect ang mga diseases ug ma-prevent nato ang complications of these diseases (Early prenatal care allows us to identify illnesses and stop their complications),” she said.
Lea Gunabe, Safe Motherhood Program Coordinator, also said they have ample tetanus toxoid vaccine for expectant mothers.
She said pregnant women are discouraged from getting the services of “hilot,” adding that they inform their district health authorities about the prevalence of discouraging home births in the city, particularly in Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas (GIDA).
She also urged pregnant women to patronize the CHO’s birthing facilities located in Paquibato, Marilog, Bunawan, Tibungco, Agdao, Buhangin, and Toril. CIO
