In the middle of all the literal hustle and bustle in Barangay Basak San Nicolas, where Cebu City’s tartanillas still roam every day, Glory Reborn stands as a refuge for moms and newborns.
“I think I knew that this was the right place as soon as I walked down the street and I saw just women and children smiling and playing. And there were so many of them on Cabreros Street, and instantly, as if I’ve known them forever,” says Hilary Overton, founder and director of the local non-profit organization that offers healthcare for marginalized women, mothers, and babies.
After the Boomers, most of humankind as we know it was born in hospitals, just like you and me. This paved the way for better chances for mothers and babies to have a good life. According to the World Health Organization, however, maternal mortality is still at a high rate. It’s almost hard to believe, considering today’s rapid shifts in technology, with AI, self-driving cars, and all.
In the Philippines alone, one in 10 women give birth without the presence of skilled health professionals. This says a lot about maternal care and women’s healthcare in general, even for those who choose to be child-free. For the last twenty years, Glory Reborn has been tirelessly working to change this statistic, “one mom and one baby at a time”.
The Birth of Glory Reborn
Growing up in the United States as a pastor’s kid, founder and director Hilary Overton was exposed to missionary work at a young age. On a mission trip to the Philippines 23 years ago, she witnessed the kind of healthcare provided for women and thought she could make a difference here.
Glory Reborn has helped birth around 6,300 babies to date, with the average age of patients being 21 years old, 14 years old as their youngest, and some patients closer to 40 years old. These women usually live in a small, around 10 square feet. A lot of them come from difficult situations, whether out of human trafficking or from extreme areas of poverty. Aside from the walk-in patients, they regularly visit the jail, dump site, and red light areas. “I wanted to be in an area where the women were not being reached. The idea was to find an impoverished area that really needed help,” shares Hilary.
A Holistic Approach to Care
Glory Reborn is PhilHealth-accredited and offers 24-hour medical services for moms and babies. While it is a maternal medical facility, its approach is holistic care, transcending mere medical assistance. It also invests in a mother’s heart spiritually through ministry services and counseling and helps with her mental health through maternal mental health counseling and psychosocial support. “We are investing in pregnancy, the hearts of mothers, the community, and the generations of babies to come,” says Hilary.
Pioneering Waterbirth In Cebu
In its pursuit to give the best and highest standard of healthcare for moms, Glory Reborn has pioneered waterbirth in Cebu City as an alternative to the typical modern-day hospital delivery, which is usually land or operative delivery. This not only gives mothers another way to give birth but also shifts their perspective of birth by “profoundly helping a mother trust herself, her body, and the process of birth.”
With Lamaze-certified medical professionals and childbirth educators, they have done their due diligence in training and research to offer this gentle-birthing option. They also have childbirth education classes for couples, with a series of lessons on healthy birth practices, creating a birth plan, breastfeeding, newborn care, and postpartum recovery.
Maternal care and even overall healthcare in the Philippines still have a long way to go, no matter how accelerated technology has been nowadays. In fact, with the rise of gentle birth options, it seems like the way to go for women’s health and wellness is back—back to trusting our bodies and our primal instincts and, when possible, rediscovering the strength within us to birth and mother.
The Glory Reborn maternity clinic and office is at 77C Cabreros Street, Basak San Nicolas, Cebu City. Stay updated by following them on Facebook and Instagram. Know more or get involved in their cause through their website, www.gloryreborn.org.
Photography Kyrra Kho
