Post-natal survival kits to help underprivileged moms
AT 22 years old, Jesse Ann Lanon had given birth twice. She is a full-time housewife while her husband works as a truck driver.
Joan Talaman, 28, is a new mother who gave birth to a boy a few days ago. She is also a homemaker and her husband works.
The two young mothers are one of the recipients of Johnson & Johnson Brighter Future program, where the company, together with the government, takes care of selected moms’ survival kits.
According to the data of the World Health Organization, the Philippines is among the top countries “that contribute to 97 percent of maternal, infant and child deaths worldwide.”
The information also said “about half of child deaths happen in the first 28 days of life.”
This is where the importance of post-natal care comes in. Because of poverty, distance of maternal clinics in far-flung areas, or sheer lack of knowledge, mothers don’t bother to have their babies and themselves checked up weeks or even months after delivery.
As a company that promotes products intended for babies and children, Johnson & Johnson decided to create a social responsibility program that echoes their advocacy as a brand.
“Brighter Future” is as direct as giving away post-delivery survival kits to mothers so they are reminded to come back to health clinics.
Registered Midwife Marissa Romero of SB Lying-in Clinic in Quezon City said the two mothers showed due diligence in their prenatal checkups. Those were signs that they would be good examples for other mothers not to take for granted postnatal care.
Romero said the survival kits do not only help mothers especially in depressed areas but also good reminders of their monthly checkup schedule.
Johnson & Johnson launched the program in September 2013. It is considered as the company’s largest multi-sector corporate citizenship program designed to reduce neonatal and maternal deaths in the country.
In partnership with the United Nations Children’s Fund and local government units across the country, JJPI rolled out the first and foundational phase of its program concentrating on education, capacity building and community mobilization toward the strengthening of health systems, across the most vulnerable communities nationwide, in support of improved maternal and newborn care.
The second phase of the pro- gram involved the direct contribution and engagement of JJPI employees to achieve the company’s goals.
“At the heart of this initiative are the twin pillars of recycling and the effort to save lives,” said Sean Zantua, human resources and contributions director of JJPI. “In our world, they are connected. On any given month, tons of post-consumer plastic just from J&J products goes into our landfills and back into the environment. Our goal was to funnel even a fourth of that to recycling, where the broken-down recyclables are then sold to raise funds. This activity coupled with our fund-raising initiatives went to saving enough money to purchase survival kits that will be used to save mother and newborn lives.”
The “survival kits” contain items that have been scientifically proven to raise the survival rates of newborns and their mothers within the critical first few hours and weeks. Items in the kits include medical supplies and medicines such as umbilical cord clamps, syringes, oxytocin, phytomenadione and eye antimicrobial ointment, and newborn and delivery needs such as mittens, a baby bonnet, socks and receiving blankets.
“When the items are utilized by our trained healthcare prac- titioners and our mothers with the support of our midwives, a mother safely delivers her child into our world,” said Dr. Mariella Castillo, Unicef Philippines maternal and child health specialist.
The SB Lying-In Clinic is one of the first recipients of the program because based on its research, JJPI saw that this area in Quezon City had the most number of infant deaths. This is where help was needed the most.
Jeffrey Stewart Go, president and managing director of JJPI said the company is optimistic that they would be able to extend this kind of social responsibility to mothers in other areas in the Philippines.
The company is working closely with health institutions and local government units to expand the reach of the survival kits. Aside from the kits, JJPI is working on more partnerships with public health experts and local government units for capacity building, and a public engagement campaign, in the months to come.
“In the meantime, and most importantly, today is a show of our commitment toward helping provide solutions to the most pressing challenges facing maternal and infant health. Today is also a celebration of mothers and newborns nationwide, and a call for collective action: that together we can and will leave our world a little better than when we found it for the benefit of our nation’s babies,” Go said.