NayBahay: Transforming communities one baby at a time

MANILA, Philippines - Diana Rose is moments away from one of the most important and critical events in her life — that of giving birth to her first baby. She is lying on her back as she surveys her surroundings, and although she feels startled that she is not in the familiar environs of her home, she relaxes with the thought that she is in a clean, comforting and reassuring place surrounded by people ready to help her.

Perhaps unknown to Diana Rose, her situation is a special and momentous one — a first among the countless generations of mothers who have experienced, and survived, giving birth in their far-flung community of Minalabac, Camarines Sur. She represents the new generation of mothers, and their children who will be born with a better chance at survival, escaping the odds of physical danger and medical ailments.

After a few hours of strained labor, Diana Rose tiredly but triumphantly brings into the world baby Marco — the first successful delivery at the NayBahay birthing facility in Minalabac.  

A safe haven for childbearing mothers

The story of Diana Rose and her baby is a snapshot at NayBahay when it first opened its doors in January 2012.

NayBahay — a play on Filipino words connoting “mother’s haven” — is Pfizer’s flagship program designed to respond to specific needs in maternal and child health. Carried out under the Pfizer Philippines Foundation Inc. (PPFI), NayBahay aims to provide free, comfortable and medically supervised birthing facilities as a safe alternative to home-based deliveries commonplace in underserved rural localities across the Philippines.

“NayBahay is our simple but meaningful contribution to helping address maternal and child mortality incidence in the country,” says Patricia Pascual, vice chair of PPFI. Apart from being a physical facility, NayBahay also makes services of trained health professionals readily available and accessible, to ensure that childbearing mothers are better educated and guided.

“Ultimately, the program provides opportunities for stakeholders to collaborate in creating an enabling environment that fosters change in attitudes, beliefs and practices in health, wellness, and childbearing,” adds Pascual.

Present at the turnover of the NayBahay facility to the local government of Minalabac, Camarines Sur are (from left) Vice Mayor Nestor Villegas; Ahmet Genel, Pfizer Philippines Foundation chairman; Teodoro Herbosa, DOH undersecretary for NCR and Southern Luzon; Dr. Renabeth Vera, Minalabac municipal health officer; Mayor Lovegildo Basmayor; Dr. Cris Dumo, Pfizer Philippines Foundation president; and architect Jason Buensalido of Buensalido Architects.

Small but sure steps

The third-class municipality of Minalabac, Camarines Sur was selected as the pilot community for the first NayBahay facility, in coordination with the Zuellig Family Foundation. The actual infrastructure was designed by architect Jason Buensalido, repurposing cargo container vessels to enhance the environmental and cost sustainability of the facility.

The facility was designed to accommodate two normal birthing patients at a time, and is fitted out with medical equipment, supplies, and services guided by standards set by the state insurance arm PhilHealth, as well as by the specific needs of the community.

Most importantly, PPFI works in close coordination with the local government unit to which the facility would also be eventually turned over and manned by the local health officer.

One birth at a time

Data gathered in the first year of operations of the Minalabac facility report 327 normal childbirths with no incidence of maternal or infant deaths. This figure represents as much as 33 percent of the total 983 births in the municipality as of December 2012, and most importantly, the figure represents as much as 42 percent of facility-based births compared to hospitals and other medical facilities.

As evidenced by these results, more residents have definitely found the value of preferring safe facility-based births such as those at NayBahay. Highlighting these initial successes as well, NayBahay was recently cited with an award of merit during the fifth annual Global CSR Summit and Awards, where it was entered under the Best Community Program category.

Following such success of NayBahay in Minalabac, a second birthing facility will be unveiled by PPFI in the fifth-class municipality of San Andres, Romblon by June, with at least two more facilities in other Philippine municipalities to be launched within the year.

With small but sure steps in supporting maternal and child health, more stories such as that of Diana Rose and baby Marco are sure to fill many more communities across the Philippines — attesting to the fact that more lives can be saved simply by providing underserved citizens with better opportunities and alternatives.