Philips, a leading health technology company, has launched its “MOM (Mobile Obstetrics Monitoring (MOM) for Moms” campaign to raise awareness about high maternal mortality rate in the country as well as show the potential of mobile technology in addressing some major causes of death among women during pregnancy.
Philips officials said MOM is a software solution that allows doctors and other healthcare workers to perform antenatal risk stratification, receive diagnostic assistance, and assess the progress of a mother’s pregnancy via smart phones or other mobile devices in community settings.
The mobile phone application intends to help ObGyns, midwives and other healthcare workers remotely monitor the health of expectant mothers and the progress of their pregnancy.
Philips Philippines country manager Urasinee Patarasongkram said the MOM was first introduced in Indonesia, where it has been used to monitor and assess pregnant women for early detection of high-risk pregnancy.
Here in the Philippines, Philips officials said they aim to bring this new “telehealth solution” to urban and rural areas where access to health care services and laboratory procedures are very difficult.
With this app, doctors and health care workers can make the health profile of pregnant women by gathering data from physical examinations and laboratory tests. This would help them determine the necessary medical intervention needed by patients with complicated conditions.
Patarasongkram said that in the Philippines, the maternal mortality rate is very high at 162 deaths per 100,000 live births as of 2015
“Although it has been decreasing in recent years, it has not been reduced enough to meet the Millennium Development Goal Target of 52 deaths per 100,000,” she noted.
She said there are three contributing factors to high number of maternal deaths in the country. These are the delays in reaching appropriate centers, delays in health care provision for expectant mothers, and delays in seeking medical help.
“We saw the opportunity to introduce an innovative solution to address these root causes of the Philippine’s high maternal mortality rate,” Patarasongkram said during the launch of “Philips MOM for Moms” campaign last Tuesday. (Emily G. Bugarin)