By Alisha Giri | Program Coordinator
Achieving skilled attendance at every birth has emerged as a global priority, and women in high-risk regions are increasingly being encouraged to deliver in health facilities. This challenge is particularly acute in remote rural areas around the world. One Heart's Network of Safety model addresses the barriers that limit access to quality maternal and neonatal healthcare services at all levels of the existing local healthcare infrastructure, reducing the risk of maternal and neonatal deaths. We effect sustainable and long-term systemic changes based on an integration of local resources, local government officials, national policy makers, local communities and local healthcare providers, while respecting cultural norms and practices.
There are currently 35 under-served districts in Nepal where the maternal and neonatal mortality rate is anywhere between 2 to 5 times higher than the national average. Currently, OHW is working to reduce these rates in five of these districts. Our 2016 New Year's Resolution is to expand to four additional districts. The funds raised from this project will be used on:
Tashi's Story:
Fifteen-year-old Tashi suffered in labor for more than a day before she walked for five hours through high mountain passes to reach a One Heart World-Wide birthing center in the nearest city, Dunai. She received four prenatal check-ups at the recommendation of a One Heart trained community outreach volunteer and was told about the importance of a safe delivery so she bravely decided to make the trek to a Dunai birthing center even though neither her family nor husband could accompany her due to the demands in the field during harvest season.
After over four more hours of labor in the birthing center, she received an episiotomy—a procedure that proved lifesaving for both her and her baby. When Tashi’s baby was born, he was lifeless and blue. The skilled birth attendant and doctor worked together with bag and mask suction devices and a laryngoscope to revive the baby and clear his airway. Once he breathed his first breaths on his own he was placed in an incubator. Tashi was grateful for her own life and her baby's and vowed to champion the importance of safe births in her village. Community outreach volunteers, skilled birthing attendants, medical equipment, and a safe environment with electricity were all critical to the survival of both baby and mother.
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