By Sharad Agarwal | Project Leader
Mrs. Puja from Khaikha Village, post- Karma, Sonbhadra in Uttar Pradesh becomes the proud mother in her community to opt for an institutional delivery, thanks to the generous donations made to save lives of mother and new-borns.
For Puja, hospitals had always meant the unfortunate last resort for dying people. The fact that expecting mothers visited hospitals for health check-ups and deliveries was unheard-of for this 26-year-old underprivileged woman from eastern Uttar Pradesh. So, even till her eighth month of pregnancy, she had not felt the need for a medical consultation. An isolated life in a remote Karma hamlet of Khaikha Village, Sonbhadra district, had kept her widely ignorant about healthcare.
Puja is hailing from the backward village where accessibility of medical services is a major roadblock for residents who are compelled to travel 20 kms to reach the nearest health facility. Poor transportation, poverty and lack of awareness further drive the community towards a neglected outlook for maternal and child health. No wonder, non-institutional deliveries by midwives remained a norm in this area for decades.
A change stepped in when Ms. Anita, Merry Tarang Worker (MTW) from Merrygold Health Network (MGHN) team visit her. After the visit, she came to know about Puja and realised that residents of this area were ignorant about antenatal care, postnatal care, family planning, vaccination and other health related issues. She encouraged her to consider institutional delivery as this may help both of them to live safely and happily. Since her husband was not much convinced about the process due to fear of expensive procedure, our MTW, informed the couple about the entire procedure and that it would be provided free along with a pick- and drop facility for the couple for easy access to the hospital.
Her consistent efforts paid off after a month when Puja and her husband, Virendra agreed for an institutional delivery for their first child. With support from MGHN team members, Puja delivered (normal) a baby boy at BBM Merrygold Hospital, Chandauli, in the first week of July. “We never knew that delivering in a hospital would be much safer, says the couple”.
Like, Puja, there are many other women who need our support towards an institutional delivery with free medical consultation. They need you at the crucial phase of their life, where a pregnant lady becomes a Mother.
On behalf of my organization (HLFPPT), I am taking the privilege to thank you all for your generous support provided under the project “Safe Pregnancy for 200 poor Women in India”.
About the Project:
HLFPPT has partnered with more than 300 hospitals to provide safe pregnancy and delivery facilities to poor women. This includes medical check-ups, counseling support, medicines, tests, nutritional supplements, delivery care, etc. More than 600,000 women have availed services through HLFPPT hospitals.
Long-Term Impact
This project is helping to prevent needless deaths of mothers by ensuring that at least 500 poor pregnant women are blessed with healthy babies. Given the key role that mothers play in the health of their families, the program is also contributing towards improving the overall quality of healthcare in the state-starting with one mother-baby pair at a time.
Note: Due to some administrative reasons, donations received for this project may not be disbursed for the next couple of months. The disbursement of the donation will resume back to normal, once the technical issue gets resolved.
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