Press Release
February 2, 2008

Loren proposes special education for expectant moms

A child's first teacher is his or her mother and as experts have established, the learning process begins right from the womb.

As a mother's education has a bearing on her child's intelligence or learning ability, Sen. Loren Legarda has filed a bill seeking to establish a proposed a literacy program for expectant mothers.

The program seeks to enhance a mother's capability to play the important role of nurturing the child's cognitive development.

Under the program, all public and private hospitals, clinics and health centers shall have reading and music rooms, where the mother can read not only to widen her knowledge but also stimulate the baby's mental development.

The facilities should be equipped with reading materials, including children's books and health care manuals, as well as recorded music which mothers can play for the unborn babies to listen to.

Reading or simply talking to the unborn child also establishes strong bonds between parents and children.

The proposed program is intended mainly for low-income communities where mothers do not have the resources for complete prenatal care.

A person's basic personality and character are shaped in infancy and childhood, noted Legarda, herself a mother.

To carry out her role in early education, Legarda said, "a mother must herself be prepared and ready with the appropriate skills and knowledge of the first teacher and nurse. In her hands, the child awaits to be molded into a healthy, wise and good adult."

Ultimately, Legarda said, the objective is to raise a generation of intelligent, morally upright, healthy and psychologically stable Filipinos.

A major aspect of the parenting role, she noted, is providing education to the children so that the latter are well equipped to face the demands of life and society.

Under Senate Bill 1373, the Department of Health, in coordination with the Department of the Interior and Local Government and Department of Education shall set the implementing rules.

Failure to comply will be penalized with cancellation of the license to operate and payment of fines.

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