FEU leads first Philippine research on stillbirth and neonatal deaths

MANILA, Philippines — The figures are alarming: according to the 2021 World Health Organization country key indicators, the Philippines has a still birth rate of 10.17 per 1,000 births, and a neonatal mortality rate of 12.28 (0-27 completed days of life) per 1,000 births.

Moreover, the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund released an article last January 2023 mentioning that the Philippines has an annual record of more than 25,000 stillborn babies.

So many stillbirths, or deaths of babies before or during delivery, and yet there has been no recorded comprehensive research on stillbirths and neonatal deaths so that no one really understands what is going on inside the mind of a mother who has lost her child in such a traumatic way. So no one knows how to help her cope with the situation.

The good news is that now there is a research initiative that will look into the matter. It is called "Continuing care in COVID-19 Outbreak: A global survey of New expectant and bereaved parent experiences" (COCOON) and is led by Far Eastern University (FEU), as the Philippines is one of its contributing countries.

“COCOON Philippines is a collaborative project between FEU and the University of Queensland. It is a global project conducted in different countries. We are also collaborating with Mater Research Institute, King’s College London, and International Stillbirth Alliance.,” says Dr. Joemer Maravilla, supervising coordinator of COCOON and adjunct faculty of the FEU Nursing Department.

FEU is primarily funding COCOON Philippines through its University Research Assistance Grant (URAG), a university-wide research time and financial assistance to FEU academic researchers. The project is currently funded until 2026 and is headed by the principal investigator Asst. Prof. Joycelyn Abiog Filoteo of the Nursing Department, with Dr. Ana Nelia Lopez Jumamil of the Psychology Department as co-leads.

This project is one of the first projects in the university where two disciplines collaborate: nursing and psychology. It is also the first study in the Philippines that aims to look at the social determinants of stillbirth and neonatal deaths to parents.

Maravilla