Immediate Needs and Concerns among Pregnant Women During and after Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda)

Abstract

Introduction: Pregnant and postpartum women are especially vulnerable to natural disasters. These women suffer from increased risk of physical and mental issues including pregnant related problems. Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda), which hit the Philippines affected a large number of people and caused devastating damages. During and after the typhoon, pregnant women were forced to live in particularly difficult circumstances. The purpose of this study was to determine concerns and problems regarding public health needs and coping mechanisms among pregnant women during and shortly after the typhoon.Methods: This study employed a cross-sectional design utilizing focus group discussions (FGDs). Participants were 53 women (mean age: 26.6 years old; 42 had children) from four affected communities who were pregnant at the time of the typhoon. FGDs were conducted 4 months after the typhoon, from March 19 to 28, 2014, using semi-structured interviews. Data were analyzed using the qualitative content analysis.Result: Three themes were identified regarding problems and concerns during and after the typhoon: 1) having no ideas what is going to happen during the evacuation, 2) lacking essentials to survive, and 3) being unsure of how to deal with health concerns. Two themes were identified as means of solving issues: 1) finding food for survival and 2) avoiding diseases to save my family. As the pregnant women already had several typhoon experiences without any major problems, they underestimated the catastrophic nature of this typhoon. During the typhoon, the women could not ensure their safety and did not have a strong sense of crisis management. They suffered from hunger, food shortage, and poor sanitation. Moreover, though the women had fear and anxiety regarding their pregnancy, they had no way to resolve these concerns. Pregnant women and their families also suffered from common health problems for which they would usually seek medical services. Under such conditions, the pregnant woman cooperated with others for survival and used their knowledge of disease prevention.Discussion: Pregnant women experienced difficulties with evacuation, a lack of minimum survival needs, and attending to their own health issues. Pregnant women were also concerned about needs and health issues of their families, particular, when they had small children. Collecting accurate information regarding the disaster and conducting self-sustainable preparation prior to the disaster among pregnant women will help them to protect their pregnancy status, thereby improving their families’ chance of survival during and after disasters.

A Systematic Review of Water and Gender Interlinkages: Assessing the Intersection With Health

“…Women Are the Primary Water Purveyors, Particularly in the Developing Regions of the World Largely, the identified observational studies ( Table 1) emphasized issues in accessing clean water among women and girls, and described that a lack of clean water and water resources negatively contributed to women and girl's health and quality of life (Doherty et al, 2007;Bornman et al, 2012;Sato et al, 2016;Gaspar et al, 2017;Vos et al, 2017;Angoua et al, 2018;Prado et al, 2019). Studies which considered gender likewise revealed a lack of access to improved water for both men and women alike (Ugbomoiko et al, 2009;Al-Delaimy et al, 2014;Atalabi et al, 2016;Holvoet et al, 2016;Akombi et al, 2017;Baker et al, 2018).…”

“…A multitude of studies focused on women and girls and demonstrated that women practiced poor sanitation, hygiene, and MHM practices, largely due to lacking resources. Sanitation facilities were commonly cited to not be safe, clean, and accessible (Kwiringira et al, 2014;Sato et al, 2016;Khan et al, 2017;Aluko et al, 2018;Angoua et al, 2018;Dendup et al, 2018;Desalegn et al, 2018;Njuguna, 2019;Winter et al, 2019). Basic needs, such as soap and washing facilities, and hygienic products, such as toothpaste were documented as hygiene barriers (Budhathoki et al, 2018;Lubon et al, 2018).…”

“…For example, religious, new mothers who were fasting and did not have access to improved water or sanitation were more likely to be underweight (Desalegn et al, 2018). Furthermore, pregnant women who experienced a natural disaster reported a lack of access to basic water and maternal care which added physical and psychological stress (Sato et al, 2016).…”

“…Furthermore, a comprehensive intervention which combined hand-pumps, latrines, and hygiene education demonstrated significant success after a 7-years follow-up, drastically increasing the number of households using improved WASH practices, reducing bacteria on the hands of mothers, and consequently the incidence of diarrhea in children (Hoque et al, 1996). A lack of clean water negatively impact women and girl's quality of life Doherty et al, 2007;Bornman et al, 2012;Sato et al, 2016;Gaspar et al, 2017;Vos et al, 2017;Angoua et al, 2018;Prado et al, 2019 Women may have reduced water security Bisung and Elliott, 2018 Women are the primary purveyors of water Hunter, 2006;Bornman et al, 2012;Holvoet et al, 2016;Geere et al, 2018 Sanitation and Hygiene…”

“…Women lack access to sustainable sanitation and hygiene facilities and resources. Kwiringira et al, 2014;Sato et al, 2016;Khan et al, 2017;Aluko et al, 2018;Angoua et al, 2018;Budhathoki et al, 2018;Dendup et al, 2018;Desalegn et al, 2018;Lubon et al, 2018;Winter et al, 2019 Gender differences in accessing a latrine were largely unremarkable. Ugbomoiko et al, 2009;Al-Delaimy et al, 2014;Alemu et al, 2017;Baker et al, 2018 Women and girls were burdened by latrines which lacked privacy and security.…”