ABSTRACT
In accordance with the global concern about women's welfare and development, the Philippine Government and particularly the Department of Health have been addressing the health of women. Data recently available indicate that in 1987—1993, more than two Filipino women died of maternity-related causes for every 1,000 live births (Philippines, National Statistics Office, Macro International Inc., 1994a), due to postpartum haemorrhage, hypertension, and septicemia. Of the estimated 8.8 million women married and at reproductive age in the early 1990s, 1,500,000 become pregnant annually, and of the estimated 6 million regarded at "risk" of pregnancy, only 3 million practise family planning (FP); the other 3 million represent the unmet need for FP. An estimated 155,000 to 750,000 abortions are induced annually. Among pregnant and lactating mothers in 1987, about 70% had adequate energy and protein intake and close to half suffered from iron-deficiency anaemia (Philippines, Department of Health, 1995).
