CORDON, Isabela—The two-year-old temporary restraining order on birth-control implants mentioned in the 2017 State of the Nation Address of President Rodrigo Duterte has already opened a greater demand for family planning services provided by private birthing clinics.
Midwife Imelda C. Domingo, a returning overseas worker who toiled in Jordan, told the Manila Standard that her clinic has been accommodating more married women who are seeking birth control options compared to past years.
“More women are coming to us because there are certain services that they use to get from RHUs [rural health units], which were covered by a ban. It is good we found a United Nations Population Fund-recognized partner, the nongovernment organization called BITE. They have access to birth-control implants not covered by the TRO, and they are sharing it with us,” she said.
Domingo, better known as “Komadrona Kilbang” (Kilbang the midwife) here, has opened the new building for a fully furnished Kelly’s Birthing Home two months ago. She personally mans the clinic with two young midwives she hired as assistants. The older birthing clinic she used was the renovated basement of her ancestral home.
Two decades ago, Domingo used to work as a midwife in a private hospital here, before she decided to work abroad. She served as a caregiver in Jordan but was forced to return to the Philippines because of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the Gaza strip in 2005.
As a Philhealth-accredited birthing clinic, Kelly’s Birthing Home is popular for its 24/7 services in the neighborhood. Mothers whom Domingo helped in their family planning efforts were also patronizing her for normal birth deliveries.