Lalita Gotame, a resident of Ward No. 4, in Dhorpatan Municipality, in Baglung district, recently birthed her third child. She gave birth to her first child in India and the other two in Khunga, a village in the ward. Lalita had no access to any health check-up facility when she conceived for the second time. To make the matter worse, she was forced to give birth to her second child in a shed at the Thulogar area of Khunga, because giving birth at home is seen as a bad omen according to the deeply-held superstitious beliefs.
“There was no health centre around, and we were unaware that we needed to undergo health check-ups during pregnancy. Despite receiving no such services, I gave birth to two,” said Lalita.
However, when Lalita was pregnant for the third time, she was able to have her health checked up four times before delivery. It was because the newly elected local government established a maternity home as a community health unit one-and-a-half years ago. The maternity home that started its service in a rented building used to take care of the new mothers by keeping them on straw mats. But now, it has its own building with adequate beds and other facilities.
“After the maternity home came into operation, pregnant women started visiting the health centre for regular health check-ups. The cases of women in Khunga delivering babies outside the health centre has dropped to zero,” said Auxiliary Health Worker (AHW) Hira Gaire of the maternity home.
As per Gaire, the maternity home now has all resources required to operate in a way it should. The maternity home’s establishment was a culmination of two-way support from Nepal and Swiss governments.
In the first year of its establishment, 22 women gave delivery in the maternity home. That number is five in the current fiscal year. Health workers in the maternity home also get in regular contact with the pregnant women and give them information about proper diet needed for the their as well as their babies’ sound health. Apart from that, they also prescribe necessary medicines.
“There was a health centre in other part of Dhorpatan, but it was out of reach for the people of Khunga due to the village’s geographical situation. This is why we established the maternity home as a community health unit under the Rural Health Development Programme of the government,” said the ward chairman Tilak Pun.
There is a health centre in Chhore area of Khunga but still it isn’t accessible to all the villagers of the area. A health unit with maternity service was then established in Dhiri for the villagers in Wards 6, 7 and 9 from the last year as well.
Dhorpatan Municipality has managed manpower of one AHW, one Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANM) and an office helper for each health unit. With the health service available in Dhiri, people from Kiri, Phalam Khani, Mathillo Phorse, Jhansari, Putar River, Nulikhel, Rikhuwa, Rupauli and Chhapate area have been benefitted. Authorities have assured to provide all necessary resources to the health centres and requested public to reach health centres to avail the services.
Source : TRN,
