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Shiphrah Bahay Paanakan (Birthing Home)
A humble story of a birthing home located in rizal, providing maternity services
to underprivileged women since 1989.
empowering women through joyous, dignified & safe birthing experience. “...to save the children alive.” exodus 1:17
bY DeborAH Anne GUStAFSon
m
y mom, Jeri Gunderson, a mother of
six, started Shiprah Birthing home
in 1989, along with a midwife friend
of hers. the birthing home was then set up in
our own home. our guest bedroom turned
into the birthing room. When we started, there
were around twenty people in our family home
everyday. It was a fun, chaotic situation. At one
point every bedroom in our house has had a
baby born in it. I was homeschooled so I was able
to start attending births at the age of fourteen.
today, approximately 750 women give birth at
our birthing home every year with funds largely
provided by caring donors all over the world.
the families that come to our birthing home
often comes from very difficult situations. most
of the mother’s have been told for most of
their lives in one way or another that they do
not matter. We feel that our job at Shiphrah
Birthing home is to care for each woman in
such a way that she realizes that she does
matter, she can make a difference, and she is
strong and beautiful.
one way that we work is to encourage
women to realize the power of knowledge and
education. We empower them by offering a nineweek
course on different topics like nutrition,
breastfeeding, childbirth, family planning, and
infant care. At the beginning of the course we
ask the women to share two questions they want
to have answered while at Shiphrah Birthing
home. the questions of the sixty or so women
are then used in lessons taught. It is important
to listen and we take listening very seriously. the
teaching style is very inclusive of the participants.
We use skits, stories, and demos as our way to
teach. At the end of the nine-week course we
then follow the Filipino tradition of having a
graduation with games, food, prizes, speeches,
and graduation diplomas with gifts. We have
a grand time. each graduation has around 60
women who have attended all nine classes and
we host 12 graduations per year.
After the class time, we conduct prenatal
checkups. this service is offered by five
wonderful Filipino midwives - bhel, Dina, Grace,
Lornie, and Lydia who have worked at Shiphrah
for 16 and 8 yrs. We all work together to provide
one on one prenatal care to each woman.
At bahay Paanakan we believe that pregnancy
and birth are a beautiful and natural part of the
celebration of life. birth is as much a mental and
emotional process as it is a physical one. It is a
time in a woman's life in which the support of
family and community are all-important. each
birthing woman must be accorded the dignity
and support she needs and deserves.
As technology has enabled us to control
our environment, at least in part, childbearing
began to be viewed as a problematic condition
rather than the physiological process that it is.
birthing was removed from the community and
institutionalized. the birthing woman, stripped
of her emotional support base, was placed to
labor alone among strangers and reduced to a
minor role somewhere behind the machinery.
At the Paanakan we create an environment
where the birthing woman is affirmed, her body
honoured as created by God to do the work
of birth, and in so doing confirm the Filipino
community birthing event.
the role of the midwife is multi-faceted. She
is a caregiver, an advocate, encourager, and
often a counsellor to those in her charge. Her
training has prepared her to handle well the
normal pregnancy and birth. She is equipped
to recognize quickly when the situation has
moved beyond those parameters and refer or
transport her lady to a doctor or hospital. She is
trained and capable of responding confidently
and swiftly in an emergency and to make the
decisions necessary to properly deal with the
situation. It has been said that the midwife must
have the courage of a lion, the eye of an eagle,
and the heart of a lamb. She, the birthing mother,
the extended family, and the child to come,
form a beautiful team, working together toward
completion of one of life's greatest events.
the mothers return with their baby’s
postpartum check up, breastfeeding support,
and family planning counselling. All of our
midwives are trained in how to disperse
contraceptives. We coordinate with another
nGo for our supplies of IUD, Depo Provera,
breastfeeding Pills, and Pills at low cost.
this last year has brought a new facet of our
family planning program. every month we find
sponsors to help with the cost of tubal ligations
and vasectomies for the couples who have
decided to choose permanent contraceptive.
once a month between 1 to 5 people are driven
to Fabella maternity and child care Hospital.
our home manager Helen helps coordinate all
the details to make this program work.
I have enjoyed my time with all the pregnant
women, mom’s and babies who have attended
pregnancy group since it started in 2000.
the women in pregnancy group have been
my teachers as I have learned how different
women all over the globe view pregnancy,
childbirth, and breastfeeding.
Shiprah birthing Home is located in taytay,
rizal. If you would like to become involved they
are always in need of sponsors and donors. ❚
You can sponsor the cost of a birth which is
P4,000. Any donations are welcome. They
can use pregnancy clothes, and baby clothes
and also, donations of supplies like bleach,
laundry soap, and lysol. If you would like to
visit the centre please contact Deborah Anne
Gustafson deborahannegustafson@gmail.com
18 MADS magazine October/november 2010 19
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