Republic of the Philippines

Camarines Sur Polythenic Colleges

Dindi Izrah T. Vargas

Lorna N. Vibares, RN., RM.

Pregnancy may represent a period of great creativity for a woman. She becomes aware of
feelings and sensation she has never known before. For nine months, there are so many strange
threatening and seemingly unpredictable things that are happening to her. This can be a thrilling and
wonderful part in a woman’s life, to the husband and to the whole family. A Philippine saying goes: “A
woman giving birth has her foot in the grave”. This gloomily illustrates the danger a woman goes
through to bring another human into this world. That is the reason why there are many such
practices, rituals, beliefs and offering that are being done more on to ease the mother’s worries and
bad feelings and somehow to protect both the mother and the baby in a way that they know, with or
without scientific basis.

Perinatal pertains to the period immediately before and after birth. The perinatal period is
defined in driver’s ways. Depending on the definition, it starts at the 20 th to 28th week of gestation or
which we known as the prenatal period or pregnancy and ends 1 to 4 weeks after birth or the
postpartum period.

The post partum period involves a great deal of adjustment and adaptation to the mother, the
husband and to the whole family as well. The baby has to be cared for; the mother has to recover
from the childbirth, to learn how to take care of the baby and needs to learn to feel good about
herself as a mother; and the father needs to learn how to take care of his recovering wife. Given the
exceptional extent to which the deaths o f mothers and babies occur in the first days after birth, the
early postnatal period is the ideal time to deliver interventions to improve the health and survival of
both the newborn and the mother.

The root cause of any maternal mortality is actually the low status or regard for the health of
women and girls which leads to deprivation in resources for advocacy and education. This results in
lack of knowledge, proper attitude and practices of health workers, lack of appropriate and accessible
facilities for emergency obstetrics care as well as poor awareness and health seeking behavior of the
clients.

Every society has its own belief and practices related to health care. This are linked to
culture, environment, education, geographical location and past experiences of either the mother or
the father and the significant other. Somehow revised, some are preserved and some are still
practiced, while some are totally eradicated or eliminated by the society for they are known to be
effective and untrue as time pass by. The difference between a belief and a practice sometimes isn’t
understood well, in a worst scenario the two words are used interchangeably. When something is
accepted in the mind that something is true or real which is often underpinned by an emotional or
spiritual sense of certainty that is belief. On the other hand when something is repeatedly done for
the purpose of improving or mastering something that is a practice. Wherever people go, even they
are in the modern times wherein every person that forms a community is being influenced by
modernization, it has to be faces that everyone of his own lifestyle that is followed.

Childbearing in all cultures is complete with norms and behavioral expectations for each stage
of perinatal period. All relate to each culture’s view of how a person maintains health and prevent
illness. At the turn of the century, health for the majority of the ethnic groups was virtually
nonexistent as ignorance and neglect consigned millions to debilitating illness or on early grave. This
is because they are being influenced by a unique pattern of characteristics, behavior and habits.
Every person develops a distinctive lifestyle. This serves as a major factor that influenced his or her
health.

Minority as a group of people who, because of their physical or cultural characteristics, are
singled out from the others in the society in which they live for differential and unequal treatment and
who therefore regard themselves as subjects of collective discrimination. The Philippines is composed
of different ethnic group that are rich in culture and tradition which influences the way of living. An
ethnic group is a category of people who is distinct because of cultural characteristics, which have
been handed down from generations to generations. It is a group that shares common cultural
tradition and sense of identity. These cultural characteristics refer to language, religion, geographic
location and nationality along with distinct customs. One of these ethnic groups is the Aetas. Like
other groups they form different practices that have great impact on their health whether it is good
or bad.

As residents in rural developing areas, Aetas may subject to the consequences of the lifestyle
and nutrition transition resulting from the development of chronic diseases. Even when good health
care is available, the poor do not generally avail themselves of these important resources to the
extent that white-collar middle class people do. The poor and the working class tend to not to put a
high priority on minor conditions, seeking medical treatment only at a relatively late stage.

To start addressing the mother’s needs in a more meaningful way, encouraging of a yielding
relationship to the perinatal period is essential and so is the emphasis on the sensation of the
following what the mother feels with regard to her body, wherever that may lead. Priority is placed in
fostering trust and cooperation in the perinatal period, rather than taking control of the process with
the aid of superstitious beliefs that are either helpful of not, good or bad on the part of both the
mother and the baby.
Title: Perinatal Beliefs and Practices of Aetas Mothers in Ilian, San Nicolas, Iriga City

Authors: Jeza Marpe A. Baysa

Aprille C. Ballester

Jaime F. Morales, Jr.

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