Health and Dental Issues
“To
have and to hold, in sickness and in health...”
Whether or not you make this oath at your marriage ceremony, as a husband it is
your moral responsibility to care for your wife and family. Very often, this
responsibility comes into play very early in a Fil-West marriage, so be
prepared. The fact that many Filipinas come from poor families means that such
women have had very little medical or dental attention during their lives, and
many will have physical or dental problems that need immediate attention.
With regard to medical attention, one has to consider the environment and
culture a Filipina comes from. Because many Filipinos cannot afford healthcare,
they rely on their families to care for them when they are sick. As an example,
slightly less than half of all Filipinas have their births delivered by trained
medical personnel. While one has to admire the solidarity of the family in
these situations, the absence of a physician’s diagnosis can mean that a medical
condition may go untreated for many years – diabetes, high blood pressure,
glaucoma, etc.
The
absence of a doctor is made worse by the environment. Often the water Filipinos
drink is contaminated with bacteria, as is the food from certain butchers in the
open-air markets. According to the World Health Organization (http://www.who.org.ph),
1 in 4 Filipinos do not have access to safe drinking water. 1 in 3 do not have
access to “excreta disposal facilities” (toilets).
The
World Health Organization also made these comments about health conditions in
the Philippines: “About 33.5% of children under five years old are underweight.
In rural areas undernutrition is more prevalent than in urban areas, although it
is very common in urban slums. A study in 1990 found that children reared by
landless farm workers or small farmers were those most at risk of being
underweight. Micronutrient malnutrition is very prevalent. The prevalence of
iron deficiency anaemia increased from 26.6% in 1982 to 37.2% in 1987, largely
due to dietary inadequacy and intestinal parasites. The prevalence of anaemia in
pregnant women is 45% and in lactating women 50.6%. Anaemia occurs in almost 40%
of children. The prevalence of endemic goitre was 3.5% in 1987. About 50% of the
population is estimated to be at risk for iodine deficiency disorders. Vitamin A
deficiency is a public health problem in areas of poverty. For example, whereas
nationwide the prevalence of nightblindness is 0.8%, localized figures are as
high as 2.5%. Bitot's spots are observed in 0.3% of the total population and in
6.9% in specificinvestigated areas. Thiamin and riboflavin deficiencies have
been reported.” (http://www.wpro.who.int/themes_focuses/theme2/focus2/t2f2phi.asp)
As
so often happens in the third world, those who cannot afford adequate medical
care turn to quack doctors, psychic healers, shamans, and the modern day
equivalent of witch-doctors, though of course Filipinos know these folks by
different names. This situation is not helped by the highly superstitious
nature of rural Filipinos. It is very common for physical ailments to be blamed
on curses or evil spirits. Those who can inflict illness are given different
names in different regions of the Philippines. Some examples are, “wak-wak”, “aswang”,
“tik-tik”, “Mangkukulams”, and “Mambabarangs”. Sometimes the illnesses caused
by these types of magic users can be cured with herbal remedies or prayer, but
very often a “good” magic user is called upon to dispense with the evil
ailments. Practitioners of healing magic include the “albularyo/albularya”, the
“medico”, and the “hilotero/hilotera”.
Again, what these people are
called, what powers they are believed to possess, and how legitimately they are
perceived varies from region to region within the Philippines. If you marry a
Filipina from a rural area, however, do not be surprised if she has a
predisposition for herbal or magical cures when she becomes ill, nor if she
blames her illness on a curse or evil spirit. How you deal with this situation
is totally up to you. My suggestion…
(End
of book excerpt – if you’d like the entire text, please consider ordering
The ASAWA Guide to Fil-West
Relationships. Thank you!)