PHFN 625 Maternal-Child Health and Family Planning

About the Course

Preventive and therapeutic concepts of maternal and child health, including reproductive physiology, prenatal and neonatal care, and child growth and development, lower the burden of disease among women and children. Concepts on planned parenthood and contraceptive technologies together with their moral, social, cultural, political, and ethical implications. Maternal and child health issues are also studied in terms of their social and environmental causes and their impacts on life prospects and the social and economic welfare and development of the family, community, and nation. Successful maternal and child health programs are discussed.

Who Needs This Course?

• Graduate students:
  • MPH – Health Promotion
• This course may also be taken by
  • Health professionals for continuing education
  • Health professionals as non-degree course for professional development
  • Graduate students of other schools as transfer credit

Time Investment

Each student is expected to spend at least an additional two hours per day reading, studying, and completing assignments. Another four hours will be spent on actual field work.

Course Outcomes

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

1. Promote safe pregnancy.
2. Find strategies on how to prevent major causes of mortality and morbidity among women of reproductive age.
3. Know the leading causes of maternal mortality and morbidity and its measures to prevent it within the context of a given culture and socio-political system.
4. Implement a health teaching plan for a pregnant woman and a mother with children below 5 years old. Conduct at least 5 sessions.
5. Study some established MCH programs that were found to be effective and can be applied to the students’ local setting.
6. Develop a concise public health awareness on MCH issues through media by creating 2 educational videos (10 minutes per session). One will be related to maternal issues and one to childhood issues.

Required Textbooks

There is NO textbook for this class.

Topics to Cover

Week 1 – Maternal and Child Health: An Overview

Week 2 – Women’s Health (General Concerns)

Week 3 – Woman’s Health (Preconception)

Week 4 – Women’s Health: Conception

Week 5 – Women’s Health: Postpartum

Week 6 – Responsible Parenthood

Week 7 – Child Growth and Development: Neonatal Period

Week 8 – Child Growth and Development: Early Childhood

Week 9 – Specific Disease Concerns of Under-five Children