Mercy In Action
An international non-profit organization
Mercy In Action College of Midwifery has been birthed out of the ministry of Mercy In Action, Vineyard Inc., an international non-profit organization focused on maternal/child health care. We began in 1980 in Alaska with a non-profit clinic, then in 1990 branched out by invitation to work in Southeast Asia, training midwives and community health workers in the skills necessary to save lives and provide excellent health care during pregnancy, childbirth, and early childhood. We have remained focused on improving the critical First 1,000 Days of life over four decades. Our motto is “Safe Motherhood and Child Survival: One Good Birth at a Time.”
Since we began working in the Philippines, more than 16,000 babies have been delivered free of charge for the poor in Mercy In Action's sponsored Birth Centers and tens of thousands of lives have been positively impacted by the medical outreaches and disaster responses we have led. In addition, hundreds of Mercy In Action graduates have been equipped and released into service around the globe.
Philippines clinics
Mercy In Action's clinics provide free maternity care for the poorest of the poor, with an emphasis on respectful and compassionate care, as well as evidence-based practices which support better outcomes for mothers and babies
Mercy In Action's sponsored clinics and birth centers are now owned exclusively by national midwives in the Philippines. Through our sponsorship, we build and fund accredited and licensed medical facilities that provide free maternity care for the poorest of the poor, with an emphasis on respectful and compassionate care, as well as evidence-based practices which support better outcomes for mothers and babies. Our newborn and maternal statistics are four times better than the Philippines national average. We attribute this is a high quality of comprehensive maternity care that promotes loving-kindness and strives to remove common barriers to care.
The Philippines has a high rate of neonatal and maternal mortality. More than half of all deliveries in this country are occurring without the aid of a skilled birth attendant. For years, health experts have known that there are certain barriers to care which prevent mothers from seeking or obtaining a skilled birth attendant for their delivery. These barriers may include inability to pay a birth attendant, lack of transportation to a facility, or even the availability of enough trained birth attendants for a community. Another barrier is lack of cultural respect. To address the financial barriers, all care is free of charge. To address the transportation barriers, when possible we provide free transportation in our ambulances well as having built maternity waiting homes for women who must travel from far away. To address the availability of trained birth attendants barriers, we work with local licensed midwives, provide up-to-date skills training for local providers, scholarship Filipina students through their midwifery education, and have established clinics in communities with the lowest birth-attendance rates. To address the lack of respect, all staff is trained in the International Childbirth Initiative(ICI): 12 Steps to Safe and Respectful MotherBaby-Family Maternity Care.
Below is a link to the parent organization, Mercy In Action Vineyard Inc.
Funded by Tax-deductible donations
Please consider donating; it's easy and safe on this website with either your checking account or credit card. Or better yet, become a regular monthly partner with us as we sponsor our free birth centers and clinics to make a lasting difference in the world. Donor contributions help us buy medical supplies and food for the poor in the Philippines, and help us travel to train others in lifesaving skills. Thank you for caring, and God bless you.