Paulina Quintao – The Mobile mother's project has made significant progress in terms of the number of pregnant women accessing health facilities and receiving assistance from qualified midwives at home during childbirth.
Health Alliance International (HAI) Director Paul Vasconcelos said that data from a 2012 survey conducted before the program's implementation showed that 48% of pregnant mothers who gave birth at home had assistance from qualified health personnel. However, that figure increased to 62% after the program's implementation in 2015.
The data also showed that only 32% of pregnant women gave birth at a health facility prior to the program's implementation, although that figure has since increased to 49% due to the good relationship with local health personnel.
"We would like to establish a good connection between them (women) and health personnel so that if they have any problems [or] questions they can contact health personnel for quality maternal care," he said.
He said the program had helped contribute to a reduction in maternal and child mortality in Timor-Leste.
However, he said it took time to convince pregnant women to access health facilities as they still relied on traditional home delivery with an unqualified birth attendant.
He said HAI will continue to make efforts to raise awareness and encourage women to give birth at health facilities so that they could have access to trained midwives.
The Mobile Mother's Project is a health promotion program implemented by HIA and Catalpa International, with funding from the Timor-Leste government, USAID and Australian Aid.
The project aim to improve maternal and child health in Timor-Leste by educating women about the importance of good nutrition and encouraging them to access health facilities for safe and quality treatment.
Meanwhile, Catalpa International Program Manager Gabriela Leite Soares acknowledged that more women were now accessing health facilities.
As part of the project, women are registered via an online system at their local health facility and receive a monthly text message before and after delivery about nutrition and healthy lifestyle habits.
"What we want is for health personnel to help them (pregnant women) when they give birth, especially if there are some complications," she said.
The project was first implemented in 2013 in Manufahi municipality and has since expanded to include Liquisa, Aileu, Ermera and Manatuto. There are also plans to establish the program in Ainaro.
As patients are registered using an online system, the unreliable phone and internet connection in rural areas remains a major problem for the team during implementation.
Ermera midwife Eva Soares said many pregnant women in rural areas still give birth at home due to the long distances from health facilities. "Many pregnant women now come to health facilities for consultations, but they still face a lot of obstacles and need more support," she said.