The Country of the Philippines is made up of over 7,000 islands. It is one of the most beautiful countries I have been to. My husband and our three sons lived here on the island of Luzon in a town called Olongapo over 16 years ago serving with Mercy in Action. It was one of the most formative years of my life in learning about global maternity/newborn health and all that it entailed to work towards keeping pregnancy, birth, and babies healthy.
I am a midwife. I have served women and families in birth and beyond for over 26 years in three different countries. It is my life’s passion to be a part of supporting women and families as they bring the next generation into the world.
I am pursuing a Master’s degree in International Public health with a focus on Maternal/Child Health through INMED in order to broaden my knowledge and experience to hopefully make a larger impact in maternal/child health in the world.
For my service-learning rotation, I chose to return to the Philippines with Mercy in Action, who I still serve with, to help build up, encourage and teach and learn from our local midwives as well as teach the benefits of having a labor comfort companion in the labor room with mothers in local hospitals.
There is compelling evidence that if a woman has a companion with her during labor and birth, the outcomes in almost all areas are better than if she does not have one. In most low resource countries of the world, health systems do not allow a woman to have a companion with her during her labor. Seeing this in real life throughout my experiences of living and serving abroad, I recognize this to be an area that is overlooked in improving outcomes and saving lives.
So, here we go. Join me on my journey!
