The Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan – Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (KALAHI-CIDSS) Health Station in Brgy. La Perla, Laoang, Northern Samar now serve as a birthing clinic through the coordinated efforts of Barangay La Perla, the local government of Laoang through its Mayor, Madeleine Ong, and the KAKAK Foundation through the Mother Bless Clinic.

The health station was completed early this year while the clinic was set up in November 7 of the same year. The facilities are provided by the KAKAK foundation, a privately- owned foundation based in Leyte and supported by the Leyte Governor Jericho Petilla. The birthing clinic was established through the private and public partnership of the municipality of Laoang, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the KAKAK foundation.

“Since its set up, the birthing station has served eight expectant mothers who gave birth to eight healthy babies, with an average of one birth a week from November 7 to December 10, this year”, said Marissa Camero, an on-call midwife assigned at the birthing clinic.

Mayor Madeleine Ong said that the creation of the birthing clinic in Brgy. La Perla aims to lower down the risks of, and totally prevent mother and child mortality.

“As an advocate of women and children’s rights, we are conducting advocacy campaigns educating pregnant women on maternal care and the importance of family planning. We have assigned midwives for every barangay wherein they conduct information drive like mother’s class and family planning programs. We are also encouraging the barangays to pass an ordinance preventing the would-be mothers to be delivered by “hilot”, Mayor Ong added.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), complications during pregnancy and childbirth are the leading causes of death and disability among women of reproductive age in developing countries. In the municipality of Laoang, a mortality rate of one in every five mothers because of traditional “hilot”.

“Some mothers would really prefer to deliver their baby in their house by a “hilot” for some reasons. The most common is money, not only for payment of bills and other expenses concurred at the birthing clinic or hospitals, but also for those who will be left at home while the mother and father are not around. Another issue is the fear and shame on the would-be mother’s part. Maybe because they are not used to it”, Marissa Camero stated.

The KALAHI-CIDSS health station and birthing clinic was inaugurated on December 12, 2011, during which DSWD Secretary Dinky Soliman graced the event and lauded the local government of Laoang under the leadership of Mayor Ong and with the support of the barangay officials “for being one with the community in creating their dream of having a birthing clinic, drainage canal, and other projects”.

The KALAHI-CIDSS is an anti-poverty program of the government spearheaded by the DSWD which employs the community driven development (CDD) approach, giving community groups control over planning, decision-making, and investment of resources for local development projects.