I Came, I Followed, I’m Fine: A Case Series on the Experiences of Three Mothers on Prenatal Care

This study aimed to investigate the insights and experiences of three recently pregnant mothers in relation to prenatal care utilization. The researchers included three participants with ages between 20-26 years old, gave birth from 2018-2019 and are residents of Barangay 2-A, District 1, Davao City. A qualitative case series study was employed and, due to restrictions imposed by COVID-19 protocols, the interviews were conducted via phone calls. For triangulation of data, an interview with one live-in partner, two barangay health workers and one midwife assigned in the community was also conducted. Upon thematic analysis, one core theme of “I came, I followed, I’m fine” and five sub-themes emerged, namely: (1) inadequate knowledge on prenatal care, (2) history of successful pregnancy amidst minimal prenatal care (3) dependence on other people for prenatal care, (4) non-standardized prenatal visit guidelines and implementation, and (5) absence of women’s health activities in the community. Finally, the implications of this research include conducting further research on the incidence of adverse maternal and fetal health outcomes in relation to lesser number of prenatal visits to serve as a basis for the standardization of prenatal care guidelines and organizing more women’s health activities in the barangay to promote prenatal care.