Barangay Health Center Services and DOH Programs:

1. CONSULTATION- The purpose of this is to render quality medical care to

person/individual who needs medical assistance. BHWs will interview clients
of their chief complaints, when did they start feeling the symptoms, what are
those symptoms, how long was the symptoms felt, if they took any
medications, what are those medications, was there relief or not. Their vital
signs are then checked and noted, clients are then instructed to wait for their
numbers to be called for doctor’s check-up.

2. PRENATAL
Prenatal care is when a mother got check- ups from a doctor, nurse, or midwife
throughout her pregnancy. It helps keep her and her future baby healthy. Babies of
mothers who do not get prenatal care are three times more likely to have a low birth
weight and five times more likely to die than those born to mothers who do get care.
Why is prenatal care important?
Prenatal care is an important part of staying healthy during pregnancy. The doctor,
nurse, or midwife will monitor baby’s development and do routine testing to help find
and prevent possible problems. These regular check-ups are also a great time to learn
how to ease any discomfort the mother may be having, and ask any other questions
about her pregnancy and the birth of her future baby.
When to start having prenatal care appointments?
Prenatal care started as soon as the mother knew she’s pregnant. It’s actually best to
go to see a doctor before getting pregnant, this is sometimes called pre-pregnancy care
or preconception planning. But if that’s not possible, prenatal visits begin as soon as the
mother gets pregnant.
How often is prenatal care?
Prenatal care visit depends on how far along the pregnancy is and how high your risk is
for complications. The typical prenatal care schedule for someone whose 18-35 years
old and healthy is:
Every 4 or 6 weeks for the first 32 weeks
Every 2 or 3 weeks for the 32nd-37th weeks
Every week from the 37th week until delivery
With regular prenatal care mother can:

 Reduce the risk of pregnancy complications.

 Reduce the fetus’s and infant’s risk for complications
  Help ensure the medications women take are safe.
 https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/pregnancy/prenatal-care(Links to
an external site.) (Links to an external site.)

 Your doctor might ask you to come in for check-ups more often if you have a
high-risk pregnancy.

3. Animal Bite: Interview and Form

By using the animal bite form, clients are interviewed on what transpired during the
incident, details are identified as to what animal bit the client, which part of the body,
type of wound, what measures where done after the bite, was the animal vaccinated?
From the datas gathered, the doctor will know and can give pertinent orders.
4. IMMUNIZATION - Immunization is the process whereby a person is made
immune or resistant to an infectious disease, typically by the administration of a
vaccine. Vaccines stimulate the body’s own immune system to protect the
person against subsequent infection or disease.
Immunization is a proven tool for controlling and eliminating life-threatening infectious
diseases and is estimated to avert between 2 and 3 million deaths each year. It is one
of the most cost-effective health investments, with proven strategies that make it
accessible to even the most hard-to-reach and vulnerable populations. It has clearly
defined target groups; it can be delivered effectively through outreach activities; and
vaccination does not require any major lifestyle change

 Vaccine - A vaccine is a type of medicine that trains the body’s immune

system so that it can fight a disease it has not come into contact with before.
Vaccines are designed to prevent disease, rather than treat a disease once
you have caught it.

There are 4 main types of vaccines:

1. Live-attenuated vaccines- use a weakened (or attenuated) form of the germ

that causes a disease.  Live vaccines are used to protect against:

 Rotavirus
 Smallpox
 Chickenpox
 Yellow fever
 Measles
 Mumps  
 Rubella

   2. Inactivated vaccines - use the killed version of the germ that causes a disease.
        Inactivated vaccines are used to protect against:

 Hepatitis A
 Flu (shot only)
 Polio (shot only)
 Rabies

3. Subunit, recombinant, polysaccharide, and conjugate vaccines - use specific

pieces of the germ — like its protein, sugar, or capsid (a casing around the
germ).

 Hib
 Hepatitis B
 HPV (Human papillomavirus)
 Whooping cough
 Pneumococcal disease
 Meningococcal disease
 Shingles

4. Toxoid vaccines - use a toxin (harmful product) made by the germ that causes a
disease. They create immunity to the parts of the germ that cause a disease
instead of the germ itself. That means the immune response is targeted to the
toxin instead of the whole germ.

        Toxoid vaccines are used to protect against:

 Diphtheria
 Tetanus

Schedule of Immunization for Children 1 Year Old and Below

 5. Dispensary
TREATMENT ROOM SERVICES –
Emergency and First Aid services is offered for free to residents in the community of
every health centers. During consultation when the rural health doctor will order wound
dressing or giving of medications or vaccines, the treatment services staff are the ones
who dispenses or performs it. It is also their responsibility to give instructions and health
teachings to the clients.

6. FAMILY PLANNING SERVICES –

 Family Planning is helping couples and individuals achieve their desired

family size in the context of responsible parenthood
 Family Planning is spacing pregnancies (2-3 years between pregnancies) to
ensure the health of mother and child
 Family Planning is a health intervention program of the Department of Health
to promote the overall health of women and children; significantly contributes
to the reduction of maternal and infant deaths in the country.

Health Benefits to Mothers –

1. The importance of Family Planning to mother’s health to enable her to:

 Regain her strength lost in last pregnancy (women need at least 2 years to
completely recover their health from the physical stress of pregnancy)
 Avoid unplanned, high-risk pregnancies for mothers who are:
 Too young (less than 18 years old) or too old (more than 34 years old)
 Having more than 4 pregnancies
 Having closely spaced pregnancies (less than 2 years’ interval between
pregnancies)
 Getting pregnant while sick with chronic diseases like TB, Malaria or with iron
deficiency anemia
 Practice her reproductive right – millions of women want to stop giving birth
altogether; millions want to space their pregnancies
 Devote more and quality time to herself, her husband or her community.

1. Family planning will significantly contribute to the reduction of illegal abortions

that may lead to complications or even death of the mother.

Health Benefits to Babies –

1. Proper child care/ rearing

  Importance of breast-feeding, immunization, proper nutrition mental feeding,
dental care.

2. Reduction in infant/ child deaths in the Philippines through Family Planning

 Children can be given the proper care, love and attention to ensure health
and survival below the age of 5.

Types of Contraception –

1. The Pill– Oral contraceptive pills contain two hormones similar in a woman’s
body – estrogen and progestin/ progesterone

 The pill inhibits ovulation (release of the mature egg from the ovary)
 Thickens the cervical mucus, making it difficult for the sperm to pass through
 Does not disrupt pregnancy

2. The IUD– usually a small, flexible plastic T-shaped device with copper wire. It
is inserted in to a woman’s uterus through her vagina.

 Works by preventing the sperm and egg from meeting. The IUD makes it hard
for the sperm to move through the woman’s reproductive tract and reduces
the ability of the sperm to fertilize an egg.
 Helps in thickening of the cervical mucus thus blocking the passage of the
sperm from the vagina to the fallopian tubes.

3. The Condom- a sheath or covering made to fit over a man’s erect penis.
Most condoms are made of thin latex rubber and some are coated with
lubricants or spermicides.

 Condoms help prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs)

by keeping the sperm and any disease organisms in the semen out of the
vagina
 Condoms also prevent any disease organisms in the vagina from entering the
penis.

4. Injectable Contraceptive- An injectable contraceptive that is given every 3

months. It contains progestin, similar to the natural hormone a woman’s body
makes. The progesterone is slowly released into the woman’s bloodstream.

 Inhibits/prevents ovulation
 Thickens the cervical mucus, making it difficult for sperm to pass through the
vagina to the uterus
 Does not work by disrupting existing pregnancy
 5. Natural Family Planning– refers to methods for planning and child-spacing
by observing the fertile and infertile phases of the menstrual cycle with
abstinence from sexual intercourse if pregnancy is to be avoided.

 Woman marks with a rubber ring the color-coded beads (in a strand) that
signify different phases and days of the menstrual cycle
 Woman observes her mucus secretions. Couple avoids sex on the woman’s
“wet days” or when the mucus is slippery wet and can be stretched. Couple
can engage in sex on the woman’s “dry days” or when the woman has no
secretions.

6. Lactational Amenorrhea Method– A contraceptive method based solely on

breastfeeding.

 Prevents ovulation because breastfeeding changes the rate of release of

natural hormones
 Effective in the first 6 months after childbirth provided that:
 The baby gets at least 85% of his feedings as breast milk and the mother
breastfeeds often, day and night
 The mother’s menstrual periods have not returned
 The baby is less than 6 months’ old

7. Spacing Method- Woman identifies the beginning and end of her fertile
period by taking her body temperature in the same way at the same time
each morning before she gets out of bed. The couple avoids sex, or uses a
barrier method from the first day of menstruation until the woman’s
temperature has risen above her regular temperature and stayed up for 3
days. This means that ovulation has occurred and passed.  After this, the
couple can have unprotected sex over the next 10-12 days until her next
menstrual period begins.

Woman observes a combination of changes in her body: Mucus secretions, her

temperature and cervical position. Couple avoids sex on the woman’s “wet days” or
when the mucus is slippery, wet and can be stretched and her body temperature is
somewhat lower.  Couple can engage in sex on the woman’s “dry days” or when the
woman has no secretions and her temperature is higher.
Permanent Method:

8. Vasectomy- cutting and tying of the vas deferens; a procedure for men. A
simple surgical method of Family Planning for men performed by trained
health providers. It requires a small incision on the scrotum for the vas
deferens to be cut and tied. This keeps sperm out of a man’s semen.  The
man still has erection and ejaculate semen, but his semen can no longer get
a woman pregnant because it has no sperm.
9. Tubal Ligation- Cutting and tying of the Fallopian Tubes; A safe, simple,
surgical method of Family Planning for women performed by trained health
providers. It requires a small incision in the woman’s abdomen for the
fallopian tubes to be cut and tied. These tubes carry the mature eggs from the
ovaries to the uterus.  With the tubes blocked, the woman’s egg cannot meet
the man’s sperm.  The woman continues to have her menstrual periods.