Experiences and Satisfaction of High-Risk Mothers Who Gave Birth in Select Facilities in Legazpi City, Philippines

Among the interventions implemented to curb maternal mortality in the Philippines, service delivery networks (SDNs) have been one of the most important. However, due to their recent implementation, frameworks to assess the quality of care they provide have not yet been established. To address this need, we had formulated the Integrated Patient-Centered Health Service Framework and used it to explore the satisfaction of mothers who gave birth in select facilities Legazpi City Philippines. We conducted key-informant interviews with 14 mothers. We found out that they were satisfied with the quality of care during pre-pregnancy, pregnancy, and post-partum; however, the quality of care during labor and delivery, adherence to referral protocols, and respect for patient‟s autonomy can still be improved. The framework should be used by program managers to have a qualitative measure of quality of care provided by SDNs, as well as to ensure that referral protocols were implemented

Factors associated with having COVID-19 among unvaccinated pregnant and non-pregnant women in Metro Manila, Philippines: a multicentre longitudinal cohort study

Objective To determine the potential risk factors associated with having COVID-19 among unvaccinated pregnant and non-pregnant women.Design A multicentre prospective cohort study among eligible women in Metro Manila, Philippines, from 2020 to 2022.Setting Five national and local hospital research sites altogether recruited and screened 500 consenting eligible individuals.Participants Pregnant and non-pregnant participants meeting the eligibility criteria were admitted for a reverse-transcription PCR determination of SARS-CoV-2, pregnancy testing and ultrasound, and an interview with an administered questionnaire.Exposures Primary exposure was pregnancy; secondary exposures involve sociodemographic, lifestyle and obstetric-gynaecologic factors.Outcome measure Outcome being measured was COVID-19 status.Results The significant COVID-19 risk factors were: pregnancy (PR=1.184, 95% CI 1.096, 1.279), having a white-collar job (PR=1.123, 95% CI 1.02, 1.235), travelling abroad (PR=1.369, 95% CI 1.083, 1.173) and being infected by at least one vaccine-preventable disease (VPD) (PR=1.208, 95% CI 1.113, 1.310). Protective factors included having graduate-level education (PR=0.787, 95% CI 0.649, 0.954), immunisation against a VPD (PR=0.795, 95% CI 0.733, 0.862) and practising contraception (PR=0.889, 95% CI 0.824, 0.960).Conclusion This study is the first in the country to determine the risks influencing COVID-19 infection among unvaccinated pregnant and non-pregnant women. Pregnancy is a significant risk for COVID-19 among women in Metro Manila. Educational attainment and positive health behaviours seem to confer protection. Occupations and activities that increase the frequency of interactions, as well as history of communicable diseases may predispose women to COVID-19. Further studies are needed to elucidate the development of the disease in pregnant women, including the maternal and neonatal effects of COVID-19 via potential vertical mechanisms of transmission