CAGAYAN DE ORO -- The Philippine Obstetrical and Gynecological Society (POGS) in Northern Mindanao gathered around 600 pregnant women on Saturday at the Grand Caprice Restaurant for the “Araw ng mga Buntis 2012.”
Pregnant women all over the country take center stage Saturday as the soon-to-be moms gather together for the annual National Buntis Day activity spearheaded by the POGS.
Have something to report? Tell us in text, photos or videos.
The activity, centered on the theme “Maabilidad na P-nay, malusog na Nanay,” is part of the country’s attempt to land in the Guinness Book of World Records for the most number of pregnant women attending a simultaneous pre-natal class.
So far, there is no record to break since there had not been any entry yet for the same category.Dr. Jana Joy R. Tusalem, regional director of POGS-Northern Mindanao, said the activity aims to educate the women on pregnancy-related issues.
"Buntis Day" primarily aims to instill the importance of pre-natal check-up for soon-to-be moms so that maternal deaths will be avoided.
“It also hopes to reduce mortality and morbidity rates by 2015 considering that our country is among the top, based on a study,” Tusalem said.
She said to attain their target, they asked the midwives to encourage pregnant women to give birth in hospitals or in rural health units while discouraging giving birth at home.
Tusalem said they are also encouraging pregnant women to undergo regular prenatal check-ups to prevent complications.
During the activity, pregnant women were given prenatal classes by gynecology experts.
“Ginang Buntis” pageant was also held while the pregnant women were treated with games and entertainment, raffles and other surprises.
The pregnant women were also given freebies such as vitamins and other gifts from sponsors.
Tusalem said this year’s attendance has surpassed their expectation.
“We only expected about 500 pregnant women to attend the activity,” she said.
Saturday’s activity was held simultaneously in other venues nationwide.
Aside from Cagayan de Oro, other areas in Mindanao that participated include Butuan City, Iligan City, Bukidnon province and Surigao as organizers aimed to gather around 1,000 pregnant women to add up to the numbers in other venues. (Nicole J. Managbanag of Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro/Sunnex)
