Female Community Health Volunteer: Mina Nepali B.K.
Mina Nepali B.K., 27 years old, has been volunteering for 9 years in the village of Sunuwa Gaum. She has visited with 7 pregnant women so far this year, and received the One Heart PAVOT training one year ago.
Why did she want to become a volunteer?
I am not here for money, I am here for the service. In this field I can learn many things, like many health issues. It is benefit for myself and for women like me in my village. I can learn many vital things, so I can save child and mother in my community. So I am here to volunteer.
What challenges do the women in her village face?
“She was only sharing about the health issues” Mostly the women in my community have ultous prolapse, and that is the main problem in my community. And previously they feel shy to share about the uturen prolapse. This is my parents’ village, and I am from another district. Here they share the things with me, and I see there are many uteren prolapse. And they give birth to many children, and that is another problem the women are facing.
When she visited with pregnant women, what does she tell them?
When I visit with pregnant women, I teach to women have to take care of yourself. You have to eat lots of nutritious food, and take care of yourself to have a healthy baby. You need to share everything with your family, and if they are not supporting, we can talk with them and will advise them to help you and will support you to talk with your parents or family.
I have one story, that is just from this house, the next house. From this house there was one woman, and she was giving birth to her first child and she had a really prolonged labour. They didn’t call any health worker, and she really had a prolonged labour, like it was a long long day, it was a whole day. And around 3 o’clock the family member came to her house, thinking the FCHV will do the delivery. They came to her house, and she said, “I am not trained person, and I don’t know how to do the delivery. I think you should go to the health worker.” And he said, “please please please just come and just see what is the problem.” That was around 2.30, in the middle of the night, nearly three. She came, and when she reached there, she saw the baby’s head was stuck in the mom’s perineum. The mother was really weak, and she could not do anything. She was so scared at that time, “oh what should I do? I didn’t have any training about this. She said she had a pair of gloves in her house, that was from the previous clean birth kit. She said she had a pair of gloves, when she comes from home she brought the gloves. “I wore the gloves. When I was with health worker, I saw some delivery, but I am not trained. But when I was with the health worker, they did some procedure to open the perineum, so I did like that. Around the perineum I did like this (pointing her fingers in a circle) and the baby came out. The baby was so blue, and had some blood on his mouth. I thought he was dead, but he was not. I was a little bit cranky with the family. “why are you so careless? You should have called a health worker. Why didn’t you?” But finally she saved her life, and the baby’s life. She didn’t know about anything, how to cut the cord and she always wished to have a training. How to cut the cord? And how to do a delivery? She always wanted to know how to cut the cord. So that in an emergency condition, she can do some delivery.
Do you have any kids of your own? If yes, where did you give birth? Were there any complications?
She delivered her first baby in hospital, and she delivered her baby at 18 years old. She had gotten married by herself, meaning she did not have an arranged marriage, but a love marriage. In first child there was no complications. With my second child I have short labour. My labour started at 4am in the morning, and my husband. She delivered her baby at home for second child, and she said, “my labour is too short, and my husband went to see the ANA or the trained person from the village. One of the trained person was going to the skilled birth attendant training, at that time. We have another ANM from Narayansthan BDC, so he went to see, to call the ANM. And she said, “aw my baby will come out soon and there is no one for help.” She was alone at home at that time. And then she yelled at the next door neighbor. And some sister came from next door to help her to give birth. And then she cut the cord by herself, for her last kid. She said, “There is three years difference between my first and second kid.”
What advice does she have for young women in the community?
She said, “For the young women, I suggest to them…don’t get married in an early age, like teenage years. They should get married after they get mature, and then don’t give birth soon.” And she also said, “In female they also have sexually transmitted diseases problem, and please tell me if there is some. She advised. Please be open with me, if you feel uncomfortable to share with your parents, please share with me. If I can help you, and if I can give you some advice, I will give you. If not, we should go, and I will go with you. This is the message I was to give to young women from my village.”
Interview was taken by Kelly McIlvenny in Narayansthan in July 2011, translated by Ang Jangmu Sherpa.
