Sing Buri health center initiates '1,000 days' of pregnancy care program
 
Pikul Thong Commemoration Health Center (PTCHC) and Thon Samo Municipality in Sing Buri have partnered to provide pregnancy care to mothers, with support from the National Health Security Office (NHSO).
 
The partnership is run through the '1,000 days of the miracle' program initiated by PTCHC located in Thon Samo subdistrict in Sing Buri's Tha Chang district.
 

Ngamjit Phranate, PTCHC's acting director, said that the program had provided mothers with prenatal and postpartum care until their babies reached two years old covering a 1,000 day timeframe.
 
The mothers joining the program will receive folic acid supplements and high-nutrient and high-protein food during pre-pregnancy, which will increase the chance of delivering healthy babies weighing more than 2,500 grams.  
 
After giving birth, mothers can bring their babies to join activities organized by the health center, including fable reading and educational toy playing that help their children develop emotional intelligence. 
 
The health center's staff will run child developmental and behavioral screening tests while assisting mothers in preparing their children for entering the child development center at the age of two and a half.
 

In addition, mothers will receive advice and assistance from the 'child and family care team,' comprised of experts from multiple public and social organizations.
 
"What we are doing is like establishing a school for expected parents. We prioritize their participation in the program by engaging partners and family members to ensure mothers' quality pregnancy," said Dr Santisuk Pakthamnak, a family doctor at Pikul Thong Commemoration Health Center.
 
"We educate them about the support needed by pregnant women, including healthy food, a suitableliving environment, and emotional support that helps reduce mothers' stress.
 
Most of the pregnant women joining our program delivered healthy babies successfully.
 
Their children also passed child development tests. The program is proved to be highly beneficial for parents and local communities."  
 

The 1,000 days of miracle program is funded by the Community Health Fund under the Universal Coverage Scheme (UCS).
 
The fund, managed by the NHSO, provides local administrative organizations and their partners with financial resources for any health programs.
 
In this case, PTCHC partners with Thon Samo municipality when requesting the fund from the NHSO.
 
The introduction of the Community Health Fund is part of the NHSO's effort to increase local participation in the health system while distributing resources to local organizations which know best about local health problems and solutions. 
 
The participation has created a sense of ownership for UCS, the way to sustain the scheme for the long run.   
 


Pornrung Muenpong, head of Thon Samo Municipality's public health department, said that his municipality's past health programs had focused on postpartum and elderly care, partly because of the lack of financial resources.
 
 
The 1,000 days of miracle program has filled up the gap in the municipality's health programs by extending them to prenatal care.
 
"We thank the PTCHC for initiating the program. We will support the health center and any other proposed health programs," said Pornrung.
 

The NHSO Secretary-General Dr Jadej Thammatacharee said that the NHSO had prioritized prenatal and postpartum care because it primarily affected child development and determined individuals' health outcomes when reaching adulthood.
 
"This year, we increased health benefits for mothers. They can now request antenatal care from health units unlimitedly. Previously, they could only get it in five visits.
 
They don't need to pay because the NHSO will reimburse the medical fees for health providers," said Dr Jadej.
 
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