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Background: Given the shortage of medical professionals in the Philippines, Barangay Health Workers (BHWs) may play a role in providing postpartum healthcare services. However, as there are no reports regarding BHW activities in postpartum healthcare, we conducted this study to understand postpartum healthcare services and to explore the challenges and motivations of maternal health service providers. Methods: Focus group interview (FGI) of 13 participants was conducted as qualitative research methodology at Muntinlupa City. The results were analyzed according to the interview guide. The proceedings of the FGI were transcribed verbatim, and researchers read and coded the transcripts. The codes were then used to construct categories. Results: Four important activities were highlighted among 11 analysis codes. These activities were “Assessment of postpartum women’s conditions,” “Recommendation to visit a health facility,” “Measurement of blood-pressure and vitamin intake,” and “Providing postpartum health information.” Among five analysis codes, we identified three challenges that BHWs face, which were “No current information regarding postpartum care,” “Some postpartum women do not want to receive healthcare services from BHW,” and “Too many assigned postpartum women.” Among five analysis codes, we identified two reasons for continuing BHW activities, which were “Hospitality to help postpartum women and their family in the community” and “Performance of mission in providing BHW services.” Conclusion: This study is the first to evaluate BHW activities in postpartum healthcare services. Our results indicate that BHWs play a potentially important role in evaluating postpartum women’s physical and mental conditions through home-visiting services. However, several difficulties adversely affected their activities, and these must be addressed to maximize the contributions of BHWs to the postpartum healthcare system.

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BackgroundA low ratio of utilization of healthcare services in postpartum women may contribute to maternal deaths during the postpartum period. The maternal mortality ratio is high in the Philippines. The aim of this study was to examine the current utilization of healthcare services and the effects on the health of women in the Philippines who delivered at home.MethodsThis was a cross-sectional analytical study, based on a self-administrated questionnaire, conducted from March 2015 to February 2016 in Muntinlupa, Philippines. Sixty-three postpartum women who delivered at home or at a facility were enrolled for this study. A questionnaire containing questions regarding characteristics, utilization of healthcare services, and abnormal symptoms during postpartum period was administered. To analyze the questionnaire data, the sample was divided into delivery at home and delivery at a facility. Chi-square test, Fisher’s exact test, and Mann–Whitney U test were used.ResultsThere were significant differences in the type of birth attendant, area of residence, monthly income, and maternal and child health book usage between women who delivered at home and those who delivered at a facility (P<0.01). There was significant difference in the utilization of antenatal checkup (P<0.01) during pregnancy, whilst there was no significant difference in utilization of healthcare services during the postpartum period. Women who delivered at home were more likely to experience feeling of irritated eyes and headaches, and continuous abdominal pain (P<0.05).ConclusionFinancial and environmental barriers might hinder the utilization of healthcare services by women who deliver at home in the Philippines. Low utilization of healthcare services in women who deliver at home might result in more frequent abnormal symptoms during postpartum.