Patterns of fisher's involvement in maternal, newborn and child health in Talim Bay, Lian, Batangas

• Main Author: Rosal, Joseph Revatoris
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2008
• Subjects: Fishers > Philippines > Batangas; Fishers; Children—Health and hygiene; Child health; Public Health; Women's Health
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_masteral/3760; https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/context/etd_masteral/article/10598/viewcontent/CDTG004547_P.pdf
• Institution: De La Salle University

Male involvement has been an approach in reproductive health since the inception of the Program of Action during the International Conference on Population and Development in 1994. This was the result of a global consensus underscoring that an effective RH initiative must emphasize the roles of men and their active involvement in responsible parenthood, sexual and reproductive behavior. This qualitative study among fifteen married fishers in Lian, Batangas was able to identify the pattern of male involvement in prenatal care, childbirth and postnatal care. This participation was facilitated by their perceived married male roles in married life in general, their awareness of MNCH services and other socio-cultural influences. Though much of these encouragements are due to their appreciation of their married responsibilities, cultural factors provided the most influence. These facilitating factors led the married fishers to allot a substantial amount of time to participate in daily housework and in fact, led most of them to increase these allocations during their wives pregnancy period. This is despite the need to earn more from fishing and other supplemental economic activity to provide for all their household expenditures and their wives pregnancy needs. This study also considered the relationship of fishers involvement in their spouses prenatal care, childbirth and postnatal care to spousal communication, their use of contraceptives and intra-personal effects. Positive spousal communication is manifested by the fishers increased knowledge in their wives fertility and RH related concerns including the couples joint decision to use FP methods to ensure the number and spacing of their children. The fishers also experienced intra-personal effects as a result of their participation in MNCH. These include enhancement of their fatherhood responsibilities to their children and co-partnership role with their wives.