By Nickky Faustine P. de Guzman
THERE’S a new free mobile application that lets new moms chat and interact with other first-time moms, share their food cravings and questions, or post their maternal journey and experiences. All these and more are now possible thanks to the “Ready to Parent” app especially made for the Filipino mother.
But more than a social site, its main goal is to ease the birth pains, anxiety, and the increasing incidence of maternal death in the Philippines.
According to Department of Health (DoH) Spokesperson Dr. Eric Tayag, 13 mothers died every day in 2010 while giving birth.
“Nothing has changed much [since then],” he said at the sidelines of the app launch on Aug. 9. He said the DoH wants to lower the incidence to four or less.
FWD Life Philippines developed the app, which is downloadable in Play Store and iOS, and it has sought the help of DoH to achieve its goal.
FWD, with headquarters in Hong Kong, is the life insurance division of the Pacific Century Group, a private investment group with interests in property, financial services, telecommunications, and other investments. The FWD branch in the Philippines opened in 2014.
“If you share on Facebook some people might think ‘Oh another baby post again!’ But in the app, you have a community of people who are experiencing what you are going through. You’re in the same boat. [The app is] meant to give a specialized community,” said Alexander Sarmiento, FWD digital channel head, when asked of the importance of the app and what makes it different from the rest.
The app works online but users can download some reading materials like tips on breastfeeding, exercises, healthy food, etc., even when offline.
But why is maternal death prevalent in the Philippines?
“It is caused by three delays: the health-seeking behavior [of moms], delays in going [to the hospital], and once they’ve reached the hospital, the attendees do not know what to do or the doctor is out,” said Dr. Tayag.
He also said that mothers usually die when they deliver at home.
“Our goal is for the birth centers, as well as the hospitals, to increase in numbers. But it takes time to build the facilities, to train the midwives, and to build the network… It takes time for the intervention to take result,” he said.
Yet, DoH is hopeful. “But we are happy with the full implementation of the Reproductive Health [Act]… Spacing in between pregnancy is important to lessen the risk for mothers. All modern family planning methods should be available,” he added.
But the main concern of the app is the digital divide: what about the mothers who don’t have access to the net or do not own a smartphone?
“There’s a part two,” said Mr. Tayag. “Kung hindi, mas may advantage ang may app, ayaw naming mangyari ’yan. (If not, those who have downloaded the app have an advantage. We don’t want this to happen.)”
He said the FWD has made sure “that the access is not limited… especially since the FoI (Freedom of Information) is passed, everybody should have access to information.”
“We want it to be democratized,” added Mr. Sarmiento. He encouraged first time moms and their husbands to download the app and “give us feedback so we can develop it according to your needs.”
He said the group is working on developing the second version.
