Pregnancy and childbirth are both considered very crucial in a woman’s life. Apart from the joy and hope it brings, it is also inevitable to have fear and anxiety since it is also associated with risks to health and survival of both the mother and the baby she bears. These risks must be discontinued and should be provided with prompt interventions to secure a safe motherhood. In order to ensure that every mother will have access to healthcare facilities and receive quality care during their pregnancy, annually, 2nd week of May is celebrated as Safe Motherhood Week.
To achieve the overall maternal care, mothers should not only deliver their baby in the healthcare facilities but should also be given appropriate maternal nutrition. The ability of a mother to provide nutrients for her baby is a critical factor for fetal health. Failure to meet the nutritional requirements of the mother may not only bring risks to her health but could also lead to fetal malnutrition that may affect the child’s development in the future. This is why, mothers together with their partners must be fully committed when planning to have a baby.
To serve as guidance to this phase of both the mother and the infant’s life, the National Nutrition Council launched the Early Child Care Development-First 1000 (ECCD-F1K) program as mandated by the Republic Act No. 10410. The ECCD-F1k program covers from pregnancy up to the first two years of an infant’s life which is called the period of “golden window of opportunity”. During this stage, providing proper delivery of health, nutrition and early learning interventions would help achieve optimum health and nutrition for the mother and her offspring, preventing maternal morbidity and mortality and infant malnutrition.
Motherhood is an essential stage for every woman that needs the highest quality care to ensure her safety and the new life she brings. This phase must be accompanied with a comprehensive plan and preparedness to avoid future complications and regrets. Proper care and nutrition must start from conception until the child’s growth to ensure a safe motherhood and quality nutrition and development of the child.
NO I Angelica O. Pajulas
