Journey to parenthood

"Journey to parenthood"

Sun.Star Davao, Aug. 16, 2008

In an ideal world, this is what we wish to happen: Boy meets girl. They fall in love, get married and soon after, have adorable kids of their own.

If only life was that simple and uncomplicated....

Reality check. For some couples, the journey to parenthood involves years of anxious waiting and sometimes, does not take place at all.

According to Asia Wide Actions for Reproductive Education (AWARE), “Infertility can alter nearly every aspect of a person's life. Self-esteem, dreams for the future, and relationships with others may all be affected. Yet, the emotional aspects of infertility often go ignored and untreated”.

“Because it is such a private issue, many couples do not share their experiences openly with friends and family. As a result, they feel isolated. But, they are not alone. In fact, one couple in six around the world does not conceive within the first twelve months of trying, and may need medical help to achieve pregnancy. They experience infertility with all the feelings and frustrations that may go with it”, states AWARE.

Factors affecting fertility
Infertility is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as “the inability of a couple to achieve conception or bring a pregnancy to term after a year or more of regular, unprotected sexual intercourse.”

Failure to conceive is a problem that affects both partners equally.

According to Dr. Maria Lourdes Zosas-Cabling, Obstetrician-Gynecologist, there are several factors which can affect fertility.

“It can be that the couple is so occupied that they only have sex during the weekends. Hence, they are not able to time it during the ovulation of the woman”, cites Dr. Cabling who is married to Davao City councilor Arnulfo Cabling.

Another cause she cited is age. “Women nowadays are so career-oriented that they usually delay marriage or postpone conceiving a child. Remember, the women’s fertility is at its peak between the ages of 20 and 24. At birth, women have around 2 million eggs but it will drop to 300,000 by their first menstruation. So, by the time they reach 30 years old, the eggs will only be 150,000 which would last until menopause, as we are withdrawing 15-30 eggs per menstrual cycle”, Dr. Cabling says.

“One’s occupation can also be another factor. There are numerous cases now of couples experiencing secondary infertility, meaning they already have one or more children but are having a hard time conceiving again. This may be caused by certain professions, for example such as seafarers where their job exposes them to extreme heat in tankers. This affects the sperm production”, points out Dr. Cabling.

Other causes that may affect fertility include “infection or blockages in the fallopian tube; organic problems in uterus such as pelvic endometriosis; ovulatory problems; a change in lifestyle (in particular stress); being overweight; excessive consumption of alcohol and coffee; as well as smoking”.

First fertility center in Davao

“During my sub-specialty training in Manila for Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, I went over the profiles of the patients and discovered that 30% of the cases come from Mindanao. In Davao alone, it is estimated that 15% of the 1.5 million population have problems in fertility”, reveals Dr. Cabling who is only one of three fertility specialists in Mindanao.

Hence, it was indeed timely when the Fertility Care Center Davao Inc. (FCCDI) was established over a year ago under the direction of Dr. Darlene Estuart, chairperson of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Brokenshire Integrated Health Ministries Inc. (BIHMI).

At present, the FCCDI is the only center of its kind in Mindanao. Dr. Cabling is the center's laboratory director while Dr. Veronica Mallare-Deniega serves as center director.

FCCDI’s objective is to “make fertility care services available to hopeful couples by providing them with a comfortable and safe venue to learn about current therapies and options for the treatment of reproductive health problems from fertility specialists”.

The center enables couples to optimize possibilities by getting the best out of the latest technology of this one-stop shop which has an ultrasound machine, andrology laboratory and intrauterine insemination or more popularly known as artificial insemination facilities manned by highly trained medical technologists, midwives and other medical staff.

Moreover, BIHMI offers diagnostic and operative laparoscopy and hysteroscopy.

Laparoscopy has become an indispensable aid in the evaluation and treatment of an infertile woman. Through hysteroscopy, “visualization” of what is inside the uterus is possible. These technologies allow doctors to treat problems like ovarian cysts, myoma, ectopic pregnancy, chronic pelvic pain, endometriosis and infertility.

With FCCDI, Mindanaoans no longer need to go to Manila or abroad to have fertility treatments, thereby saving time, effort and expenses.

Journey to parenthood

According to Dr. Cabling, a lot of couples are now aware of the existence of FCCDI. In fact, the center entertains an average of three clients a day which are oftentimes new cases coming from all over Mindanao.

“Most couples accept the fact that they have a problem and this is openly discussed. The first step really to fertility care is acceptance”, emphasizes Dr. Cabling.

“The highest chance of pregnancy to occur every month is 30%. As we identify the problems, there are more chances of conceiving”, Dr. Cabling discloses.

One's journey to parenthood begins and hopefully, ends with FCCDI.

There are inspiring stories like the case of Arnold and Mary Rose Alegre from Kapalong, Davao del Norte who have been married for two years. They were finally blessed with twin boys after two months of fertility work-up and artificial insemination.

Another 'happy ending' was the birth of a baby girl to Pastor Teody and wife Yolly Pagbilao after twelve years of marriage. This was made possible through three months of fertility work-up/medication.

The latest twins FCCDI are expecting belong to a lady anesthesiologist working in Cagayan de Oro City and her husband, a Davao-based government employee who have been married for two years. Theirs was a long distance relationship and after three months of fertility work-up and through artificial insemination, the doctor is now on her fourth month of pregnancy.

However, Dr. Cabling clarifies that there are also a number of unsuccessful cases. That is why she always ask patients first if they are ready to undergo the 'emotional and psychological roller coaster' which comes with the fertility treatment.

The expenses involved in these treatments are also a major consideration. The investigative stage could cost anywhere from P8,000-P10,000. Surgical procedures are priced between P60,000-P80,000.

“In vitro fertilization which can be done in Manila costs P300,000 to P450,000 depending on the age of the woman”, Dr. Cabling shares.

The fertility specialist often reminds her patients that “All of us are blessed differently. Think of the other areas in your lives which make you happy and successful. Don’t think less of yourself if you don’t have children. Life can still be fulfilling even if you don’t have a child”.

Dr. Cabling's message to couples wanting to conceive is this: “Don’t deny the problem. Your chance today may not be the same next year. Career can wait. If you really want to have a child, then, focus on the goal. Approach infertility with your partner as you would a new project. Map out a strategy and a timetable. At least, if you look back next time, you won't have any regrets. You know that you tried your best”.

Fertility Care Center Davao Inc. is located at the lower ground level of the Brokenshire Integrated Health Ministries Inc. in Madapo Hills, Davao City. Tel. nos. 3053170-73 local 4505.

Learning life skills through Kumon

"Learning life skills through Kumon"

Sun.Star Davao, Aug. 9, 2008

Dabawenyo student achievers Katrina Mae Santos, Kimberly Yap, Angelique Louise Tan, Neil Jonathan Nadua and Jasmine Elaine Go, are outstanding children every parent dreams of—smart, responsible, diligent, and disciplined.

Seventeen-year-old Katrina is currently a Management Engineering student at Ateneo de Manila University. She was the class valedictorian of her Ateneo de Davao University-High School batch 2006-2007, and a recipient of the Fortes in Fide Excellence Award, Gerry Roxas Leadership Award as well as the President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Award for Academic Excellence and Leadership.

On the other hand, Kimberly graduated from Davao Christian High School as class valedictorian in English and first honorable mention in Chinese. After studying BS Industrial Engineering in Ateneo de Davao University for two years, where she was a consistent dean’s lister, 19-year old Kimberly is presently taking up Bachelor of Accountancy at the Singapore Management University through a scholarship by the Singapore Government.

Just like any other teenager, 17-year old Angelique loves Internet surfing, reading books and listening to music but even with these interests, she never neglected her studies at Stella Maris Academy of Davao where she graduated as a Merit Awardee and was recognized as Best in Math, Acting and Dancing. Angelique is now taking up BS Management Major in Legal Management at the Ateneo de Manila University.

De La Salle University Chemical Engineering student Neil is not only a consistent dean’s lister, but also a sports achiever. At Ateneo de Davao University-High School, this talented 18-year-old had a blackbelt in Taekwondo, served as team captain of the Taekwondo Varsity, and had won several regional and national competitions. He was likewise a member of the Badminton Varsity.

As a freshman and sophomore student at Ateneo de Davao University-High School, Jasmine often served as the school’s representative in various mathematics competitions and brought home the bacon most of the time. In 2005, she was awarded the ASEAN Scholarship and finished high school at the Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus Secondary in Singapore. At present, 19-year old Jasmine is a pre-university student at St. Andrew’s Junior College (Singapore) where she consistently belongs to the upper percentile in her class.

Aside from their impressive achievements in academics and extracurricular activities, these five brilliant individuals all have one thing in common; they are all proud students of Kumon.

Nothing common about Kumon

According to its official website, "Kumon is an educational institution, widely associated with math and language instructions, present in 45 countries. Founded by Toru Kumon in Japan almost 50 years ago, it is currently a method used by 4.12 million students worldwide.”

“Kumon basically offers math and reading (enhancement programs). We focus on developing the potential of each child based on their individual abilities. More than improving academic abilities, we also want to equip the child with the necessary life and work skills to make them positive agents of change in the society,” reveals Elizabeth “Ely” Go, one of the franchisees of Kumon in Davao.

In June 1996, Ely and her sister Elmelita “Bing” Herrera, who took up Bachelor of Science major in Business Administration and Accountancy from the University of the Philippines, opened up their own Kumon centers in Davao. Following in their footsteps was sister-in-law Ma. Joy Go, a dental medicine graduate from the University of the East.

“Our set up is more of teamwork, my center is the GCL center in Quirino, Bing runs the Obrero center and Joy heads the Matina center,” shares Ely.

Ely says that, personally, she decided to get involved with Kumon because of her passion to help other children have an easier time with math.

“I had a difficult time with math in college at the University of the Philippines,” admits Ely who is also a dentist.

With the Kumon worksheets, students develop strong academic skills in math and reading. They are able to learn high school level mathematics smoothly and improve their reading comprehension with the least amount of time. Only the most essential type of problems is included in the worksheets, and these are placed in an order that will make learning easier and most effective for children.

Kumon worksheets are envisioned to build the essentials for an efficient student: “confidence that make them enjoy their studies, good study habits that enable them to gain good results in other subjects, concentration skills that make them do their homework effectively, and curiosity that extends their critical thinking.”

Ely stresses that “Kumon develops certain life skills such as discipline, perseverance, self-learning and independence. If you read the testimonials of our students, they have gone far not only in terms of their academic pursuits but also on how they are as human beings.”

“Hearing about the successes of our Kumon students is the most rewarding experience for me more than all the plaques and citations we have received from our head office in Manila,” discloses Ely.

Learning life skills through Kumon
When did you start Kumon?

Katrina: I started Kumon when I was in Grade 5. Back then, I didn’t dislike math, I despised it, and apparently, it despised me too. It was the subject that I had a lot of difficulty with. My math grades were always the lowest and they usually brought down my average.

Kimberly: I started Kumon when I was in my 2nd year high school.

Angelique: I think I started Kumon when I was six years old, around 1997.
Neil: I was in 3rd year high school.

Jasmine: I was one of the pioneer students. If I am not mistaken, I was eight years old then.

How did Kumon help develop life skills?

Katrina: I admit that I have brains but I’m not like those who ace tests without even opening a book. Kumon proved that success is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. I was the first Kumon Math completer in Mindanao not because I was their smartest student but because I was the most persevering one. I dedicated all of my effort and spare time to do my worksheets. Proper time management and discipline were all it took to balance school and Kumon.

Kimberly: In order to achieve success in life, there must be perseverance and determination. I was able to finish Kumon and get the Singapore scholarship because of the two. But behind the success is my God, family, teachers, and friends who have been there to strengthen and encourage me all the way.

Angelique: Kumon has helped me manage my time, instill discipline within myself and develop my perseverance. I learned to divide my work at a given amount of time, concentrate on what I am doing and always be determined; therefore, achieving the aimed goal. Kumon helped me develop patience. It taught me to always have dedication in my work and it developed my self-learning ability.

Neil: Kumon has not only enhanced my analytical thinking and reading comprehension but also boosted my confidence. It has improved my study habits and taught me to never quit. Moreover, because of Kumon, I learned to never limit myself from doing other things. Even if I had to do loads of Kumon worksheets, I didn’t see them as a hindrance for me to pursue my other interests such as arts and sports.

Jasmine: As I was faced with more challenging problems in the upper levels, I had to spend more time analyzing the question. But the promise of learning something new and beyond what I was dealing with in school inspired me to put more effort, and through this, I was more determined to overcome any challenges I had to deal with not only in Kumon but in other aspects as well. As Kumon believes in speed and accuracy, I really learned to live up to high quality standards despite time constraints I had to battle with.

How do you think Kumon will be useful in your future career?

Katrina: Being in Kumon has aided me in dealing with different kinds of people: teachers, students and even parents to name a few. This will certainly help me in my business career. Also, as I said earlier, Kumon has taught me good work ethics.

Kimberly: Setting aside academics, Kumon has enabled me to see the world in the social perspective. Kumon is not about the knowledge; it is about bringing out the best from each student and using that potential to help contribute to the world.

Angelique: I believe Kumon will be of much help to me in my future career because nowadays everything involves math.

Neil: Kumon will be useful for me to achieve more goals and to have a successful life.
Jasmine: Kumon will definitely assist me in ensuring that I put my best efforts in whatever endeavor I will be faced with and as well as ensure quality in every piece of work I will have to do.

In Davao, Kumon can be found in the following locations: Matina Center-2nd Floor, Lua Building (in front of Ateneo de Davao University-Grade School), Mac Arthur Highway, tel nos. 2993831 and 2732217; Obrero Center-2nd Floor, Centillion Bldg, 544 Lacson Street, Barrio Obrero, tel. nos. 3000078 and 2732217; and GCL Center-Room 301, GCL Bldg, 110 Elpidio Quirino Avenue, D.C., tel. nos. 2212058 and 2732217.

Fees per subject are P1,800 per month for elementary level and P1,950 for high school level.

Math made fun!

"Math made fun!"

Sun.Star Davao, Aug. 2, 2008

How do you make learning Math interesting to kids?

Hands-on mom Lynn Pamela Coyukiat-Go has these simple tips for parents, “First, praise your child generously and often. In addition, be patient with the child and don’t be anxious about his/her learning rate. 
And, lastly, create a home environment conducive to the child’s learning, including the use of supplementary materials”.

Lynn has personally taken this precious advice to heart when she became a franchisee and instructor of the first E-nopi Center in Davao.

“E-nopi is a long-term international supplementary education program for Math and English that calls for students to learn independently and proactively. It allows a child to advance steadily at a pace comfortable to him or her so that he or she can achieve his or her full potentials”, shares Lynn who is married to businessman Jonathan Go.

This program was founded by the Korea Math Research Academy, publisher of Noonnoppi Math in 1976. In 2003, Daekyo Philippines Noonnoppi Inc. was established in Manila and opened its first E-nopi Center in August 2005.

In Davao, Lynn started her E-nopi Center in September 2007 with co-instructor Mary Rose Garcia. She learned about the program from her good friend and business partner, Michelle Chiong-Galbo, who has three kids enrolled in the E-nopi Cebu-Banilad Center.

“Michelle raved about E-nopi. Her kids loved it because it was enjoyable. This gave me the idea to bring E-nopi to Davao”, Lynn reveals.

As of January 2008, there are already 50 E-nopi Centers around the Philippines and its members have reached the 3,000 mark.

E-nopi Math

“One of the features of E-nopi Math is its eye-level learning. The program was founded based on a simple but very powerful thinking: understanding a child from his or her perspective”, the 35-year old Lynn discloses.

She explains that the core of E-nopi’s philosophy is that each and every child is unique and as such, their needs are different. A child will learn faster if he/she gets personalized attention from a qualified instructor even for a few minutes a week. By doing this, E-nopi offers to children what a teacher in a crowded class cannot offer.

Another feature of E-nopi is its goal to develop the child’s overall mathematical and logical thinking ability. E-nopi is composed of 2 parts: the Basic Thinking Math (BTM) and the Critical Thinking Math (CTM).

BTM is all about understanding concepts, developing the calculation ability through practice and applying these concepts through word problems. .

On the other hand, CTM focuses on advanced concepts and applications based on BTM. Through simultaneously doing activities in BTM-CTM, the child develops his/her mathematical thinking and logical thinking ability.

The use of systematic study materials for all levels is another significant feature of the program. The materials develop the students’ ability to solve problems independently.

An interactive teaching methodology is also a noteworthy feature of E-nopi. The instructor asks questions, instead of explaining the concept, to enhance the analytical ability of the child. As a result, the interaction between the teacher and the student is not only providing the booklets, but integrated healthy discussion as well.

“Feedback from our instructors includes assessment of your child’s learning progression. E-nopi believes that communication is an integral part of education”, says Lynn who has 2 lovable kids, Louise Jillian, 6 and Nathaniel Bryce, 2.

Finally, E-nopi Math also prides itself in developing the child’s critical thinking skills through the use of teaching tools such as Blocks and Shapes; Mirror; Colored Blocks; Thinking Cube; among others.

Math made fun!

“A lot of kids really dislike Math. However, we are fortunate that our students, who are as young as 4 years old, enjoy Math because of the colorful and animated worksheets that we use. They also love the teaching tools, which for them, is more like playing than learning. We try to make learning exciting so that the kids will not feel bored. We believe that learning need not be stressful for children”, Lynn says.

Registration fee (one-time payment) for E-nopi is at P390 while the monthly tuition fee is P1,980 per subject (Math and English). A one-month deposit of P1,980 per subject is likewise required. The schedule is two times a week for 30-45 minutes per session.

Currently, E-nopi Center-Davao is implementing their loyalty incentive program which favors a child who enrolls in both Math and English subjects, enrollees with siblings, and a child who has been enrolled for 3 months. For this program, the tuition fee goes down to P1,780 per subject/per month. Advanced notice will be given as soon as the center reverts back to their regular tuition fees.

“We are very happy because, so far, the responses of the students and their parents have been positive. I have received comments such as the child was upset for being absent from E-nopi. Or, the child is always asking their parents when they are going to E-nopi. These statements mean that the kids look at E-nopi as a fun and stimulating activity”, Lynn enthuses.

And, this makes teaching Math so fulfilling and inspiring for Lynn!

E-nopi Center-Davao is located at 2nd floor, LMGG Bldg., Mabini cor. Avancena Sts., D.C. Tel. no. 3002134.