Experience of High-Risk Pregnant Women Under The Implementation of "Desa Siaga (Alert Village)" Program

Through Desa Siaga (Alert Village) Program, Lumajang has been succeeded to decrease MMR. However, so far the researcher has not found any study which explored the implementation of Desa Siaga development in high-risk pregnancy care; therefore investigating the high-risk pregnant women's experience in preventing childbirth complication is important. This study aimed to document the perception and expectation among high-risk pregnant women on the "Alert Village" program. This was a qualitative study carried out in Lumajang district, East Java. The primary informants were high-risk pregnant women. The secondary informants included local communities, health workers, and maternal health programmers. The data was collected by in-depth interview, direct observation, and document review. The data analyzed with Colaizzi's technique. Most pregnant women perceived that the introduction of the "Alert Village" program had brought about improvement in the provision of women health care. The health personnel monitored high-risk pregnant women more intensely. The quality of the ante-natal care and delivery care was improved, and they were more accessible to pregnant women. The communities had more power and control over their resources. They collected fund from the community members to help support pregnant women to cover the costs associated with antenatal and delivery care. Transportation showed improvement, and it eased referral system. The "Alert Village" has improved the quality and quantity of antenatal and delivery care to high-risk pregnant women. It empowers the communities to have control over their health problems. Continuing actions need to be taken to maintain and improve these initiatives.