This post will look at the barriers to the utilization of post-natal care services (PNC).In our last post on the importance of Post-natal services, it was evident that PNCs serve an important role to both the mother and child.
After the delivery of the baby, it is important to consult post-natal care services to prevent any complications or manage any that are present. The immediate postnatal care targets to aid in the recovery of mothers and assist with providing instruction on how to care for the newborn baby. However, most women do not consult these services for a number of reasons:
The long distances to health facilities along with limited transportation facilities especially in rural locales. As a result a majority of the women choose not to attend. They end up spending too much time to even get to the health facilities and sometimes the fares charged can be an additional cost.
Social norms and traditions –Certain social customs hinder women from seeking PNC services. For example , there are beliefs that once a women has given birth , she should not leave the house to prevent harm to either her or her child.
Limited number of skilled health personnel– This makes it difficult to obtain optimal treatment. Women are forced to wait for long periods before their turn. And other times, the personnel may have inadequate knowledge on post-natal care thus the women don’t fully comprehend other aspects of PNC or may feel as though some of their concerns are undermined as they do not receive the full attention they need.In other cases, it is the health workers who do not uphold the importance of PNC services, and therefore do not sensitize the women on their benefits.
Lack of awareness on the importance of PNC services– Most women are not aware of the significance of PNC services. They therefore do not find these service to be necessary. Due to this lack of information, women presume that if they deliver, and there are no complications then there is no need for seeking postnatal consultation. Moreover, if the women leave the health centre and they are not referred by helath staff to come back for PNC services, they never come to seek them.
A lack of trust and confidentiality towards the health providers-Some women fail to seek postpartum services as they feel that some of the health workers are not discreet with their information. They feel that if they go to the health centre their information may be disclosed to others. This creates a lack of trust between the women and the health staff.
Health centres should regularly train their employees to promote favourable environments for clients to enhance the utilization of post-partum care. The Ministry of health should ensure that hospitals have enough capacity in regard to quality health care provision and staffing. It should in addition implement an inclusive plan to create women’s awareness and understanding on the necessity of postnatal services. At national level, the government should improvise guidelines and standards that facilitate the availability of post-natal care utilization in terms of funding related training campaigns and improving infrastructural facilities.