The utilization of postpartum care among Thai rural mothers: perspectives from the prenatal to the postpartum period

Wiraporn Pothisiri, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)

The evidence of a huge gap between the prenatal and delivery care usage and the postpartum care usage is apparent in many developing countries. Using prospective qualitative method, the author interviewed with 43 women residing in Kanchanaburi Province during the third trimester of their pregnancy and again during the postpartum period. The transcript analysis was employed to explore influences of changes and continuity on the use of maternal service after delivery through the women’s life history as well as motherhood experiences and their associated meanings. Three main interwoven themes emerged recurrently from both the prenatal and postpartum interviews are (1) perceptions of wound and womb, (2) availability of supports and (3) attitude towards the health care system. Within each main theme, barriers and facilitators emerged to explain the usage behaviour. The influences of these themes play vital roles in the women’s decision making process whether or not to utilize the postpartum care.