Title
Working-Class Filipino Women's Perspectives on Factors That Facilitate or Hinder Prenatal Micronutrients Supplementation to Prevent Congenital Anomalies
Document Type
Article
Peer Reviewed
1
Publication Date
4-28-2011
Journal/Book/Conference Title
Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health / Asia-Pacific Academic Consortium for Public Health
NLM Title Abbreviation
Asia Pac J Public Health
DOI
10.1177/1010539511406711
PubMed ID
21527433
Abstract
The study was conducted to plan for a community-health campaign to inform working-class Filipinos about the causes and prevention of orofacial clefting. Prenatal micronutrients may play a role in preventing orofacial clefting. Therefore, women's practices and perspectives on barriers to and facilitators of micronutrient supplementation were elicited. A total of 43 women and 22 health care workers were interviewed. Barriers to taking supplements included side effects, late prenatal care, the view that micronutrients are medications, inadequate supply, and health care workers who were unaware that prenatal vitamin supplements prevent congenital anomalies. The main facilitator was women's understanding that prenatal micronutrients improve the physical well-being of both mother and child. Given that women view having healthy babies as a reason to take micronutrients and that the health care workers lacked knowledge related to the use of micronutrients to prevent congenital anomalies, uptake of prenatal micronutrient supplementation programs may improve by specifically promoting the health benefit of preventing congenital anomalies.
URL
http://ir.uiowa.edu/nursing_pubs/779
