CNN Hero to help Cebu’s birthing centers, mothers

CEBU, Philippines - Cable News Network (CNN) Hero awardee Robin Lim met some of Cebu’s midwives and nurses yesterday to discuss issues concerning pregnant women and birthing centers in the province.

“I am trying to listen to what the midwives need and want in their own locations,” Lim said during her courtesy call with Cebu Governor Hilario Davide III yesterday.

Lim wants to aid the mothers and birthing centers in the Philippines following the increasing maternal and infant mortality rates in other countries she visited, like Indonesia. She believes these are caused by the lack of skilled attendants and the high costs of deliveries which many pregnant women cannot afford.

“The situation is bad. Babies are unattended, deliveries have become commercialized, and mothers die from hemorrhage after childbirth because they can’t afford proper care,” Lim stated in an interview with CNN.

Last month, a woman gave birth to a premature baby in Badian while on her way to the hospital onboard a trisikad. She was reportedly advised by the midwife of a birthing center to go directly to the district hospital because they lack equipment. The baby fell from the vehicle and died.

Meanwhile, in line with the World’s Breastfeeding Week which ended yesterday, Lim is pushing for breastfeeding as a method to achieve the fourth Millennium Development Goal (MDG), which is to reduce child mortality.

“For infant survival, breastfeeding is the most important key,” she stressed.

She further urged the public to help the midwives in their areas.

Lim won CNN Hero of the Year in 2011 for helping poor Indonesian women have healthy pregnancies and for offering free prenatal and birthing services through her Yayasan Bumi Sehat (Healthy Mother Earth Foundation) health clinics. (FREEMAN)