Model rural health midwife

Mitchell L. Umpad, 33, is not a typical government employee.

The rural health midwife of barangay Babag II, Cebu City, attends to the medical needs of expectant mothers and children in the community. She advises mothers-to-be as they go through their pregnancies, responds to minor health concerns and immunizes children in her office in the barangay hall.

Umapad, who started working in the government in 2002, delivers 10 to 13 babies monthly, mostly at nighttime after office hours.

“It is different from my job in the clinic. When one works for a community, one does not only answer to the needs of the residents, but one also has to be involved in their way of life,” said Umpad in Cebuano.

Umpad said that in her previous work in Mandaue City, her duty ends after the delivery or the consultation.

It is not the case for a barangay midwife.

She was a midwife in barangay Pung-ol Sibugay for eight years and formed a youth organization that raised funds for their chapel renovation.

When the barangay council made resolutions to improve the health of its residents, Umpad willingly pitched in.

At that time, Pung-ol Sibugay was strengthening and empowering the Barangay Development Council (BDC) with representatives from the health, religious, farming, youth, private and nongovernment sectors. Umpad was the representative of the health sector. She, along with other representatives, was taught about council empowerment.

BDC was an initiative by the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI) as part of the Central Cebu Water REMIND Project. Implemented from 2004 to 2006, it was the foundation’s response to protect Cebu’s watersheds.

“I used to think that we should confine ourselves to our professions. If you are a midwife, then your only duty is to look after the health of the residents. Through the seminars that I attended, I realized that we should work together for the betterment of the community,” Umpad said.

As a result of this collaboration between the council and the health sector, policies on solid waste management were crafted. The barangay also spearheaded tree-planting activities and operation cleanup drives.

These might not be part of her job description, but Umpad believes that everyone should be engaged in the affairs of the community.

She also learned the value of teamwork from the seminars facilitated by the Central Cebu Water REMIND Project.

Umpad was tapped for the project because health and environment are closely related. She said she plays a key role in educating the community on the importance of keeping the environment clean because it has a direct impact on their health.

Umpad worked with RAFI in helping the public understand the value of environmental management. She visited sitios and performed house-to-house trainings and lecture on proper waste disposal, among other concerns affecting the health of the residents.

During her assignment at Pung-ol Sibugay, Umpad set up a system that would guide leaders in identifying whom the residents would approach in medical emergencies. Those who attended the “mother’s class” were taught how to take care of their children, including taking their temperatures.

Umpad also tapped the youth to assist her and the visiting teams during medical missions.

After eight years in Pung-ol Sibugay, Umpad was transferred to nearby barangay Babag II in 2010, through the government’s localization policy. This where she hailed from.

Due to her ties with the residents in Pung-ol Sibugay, they were reluctant to let her go. In fact, her patients from Pung-ol Sibugay go all the way to Babag II for consultations. (Pung-ol Sibugay is a 10-minute motorcycle ride from Babag II.)

In Babag II, she continues to do what she does best—attend to the medical needs of mothers as well as children.

“In the beginning, it was difficult for me because it was like starting all over again. I did not encounter problems when it comes to dealing with patients because they would adjust to whoever is their midwife. The record-keeping, however, was not done properly,” she explained.

Thus, she focused on the systematic filing of the records of the barangay health center.

When she is not tending to her patients, Umpad participates in the cleanup drives organized by the barangay and attends its sessions. She supports the waste segregation initiative of the barangay authorities by doing house-to-house campaigns.

“It is important for us to help each other,” Umpad said. “Whatever tasks are at hand, it is not the responsibility of one. Everyone should be involved.”

She has a busy schedule so Umpad makes sure that she spends as much time as she can with her family. Saturday afternoons, Sundays and holidays are dedicated to her husband and 2-year old son. /Golda A. Epondulan/Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc.