Female Community Health Volunteer: Min Khatri
Min Khatri, a 29 year old health volunteer from the village, Chetri Gaun, has been a volunteering in her community for six years. She plays with her five year old son Ashim K.C. during the interview. She received the One Heart PAVOT training one year ago.
Why did she want to become a volunteer?
She said, “I want to be a volunteer because I want to serve the people. Many people do many Holy things, like worship the god, to get some goodness on them. So she wants to be FCHV, and she wants to serve the people. And she wants to get goodness by serving the people, not by worshipping the gods. And she said, “I want to serve the people, and especially women and child. I became FCHV because I want to raise awareness in my community. So that the women and child can recognize the danger signs, during pregnancy and childbirth. I can save their life. I became FCHV to save the life of the people.
What challenges do the women in her village face?
So she said, “so nowadays there is lots of awareness, so the people of my community. But still there is some problem in the women. When they give some suggestion, they say “yes I will care for pregnant women in my house” and they say this in front of them, but in the real situation they don’t do that. Especially that happens in the lower caste, and in the lower caste, she said she has some lower caste in her community, and in the lower caste she have some women who do not want to become pregnant again, but she become pregnant again because that is the pressure, for her to get pregnant, like that is her family, her husband. And some husband beat the pregnant women, and she have some of that types of bad things happening in her community. And especially that is happening in the lower caste, but in our caste (she is chetri) there is not much that types of problem, but in lower caste there are lots of problem about these things. But there are some problems we can solve, and there are some problems we cannot solve.
When she visited with pregnant women, what does she tell them? Any stories?
She is only talking about what education she gives pregnant women she visited. She said, “I visit my pregnant women, in my village. And I ask, when did your menstruation stop? How long ago did your menstruation stop? If they answer, she will ask, did you visit health post? If they say yes, that’s fine. If they said no, I will suggest for ANC visit (Antenatel check ups), and I will suggest they have iron tablets after three months. After 91 days, to have iron tablets and de-worming tablets.” She will suggest all of pregnancy care during her visit. And she will suggest for her to give birth at hospital or health care centre, “but especially from my community they prefer to give birth at hospital.”
“I will tell them about danger sign during pregnancy, and if they see danger sign they have to go to hospital.” So she will teach about the danger sign, and she will also teach about the birth planning and preparedness. So she teach where you should go for delivery, and what are the preparations you should make during pregnancy for delivery, for childbirth. She teach about those things.
So she said, “I have two stories to tell. One story is about one kids, this story is from two or three years ago. There was one kid in my ward, in my village. And the baby was big, so we called Swarswoti to come (she is ANM from this village, or skilled birth attendant). So they called Sarwosoti to attend the delivery, and Sarwosoti says baby is big so I cannot do the delivery here so you should go to hospital. So she referred to baglung hospital, and in baglung hospital they said it is complicated case so you should go to Pokhara. So they referred to pokhara, where there is a big hospital, with an NICU. When they reached there the baby was born normally from the vagina. She said the baby had some cry, when the baby was born, and after awhile the baby turned blue, and the baby died after awhile, after the delivery. That happened in Pokhara.
Another story, she said. A women from ward number 6, that is not her village it is nearby her village. There was a women who was going to give birth, but it was also a complicated case and referred to hospital. The ANM was not here she was also in Kathmandu, and she went to Pokhara, Gundark is the biggest general hospital in Pokhara. So they took to Gundark hospital, in Pokhara, and she said the mom, she have plan to have surgery on Sunday. But on Saturday, what happened is the uterous was ruptured, and the baby had all fluids, and the baby did not survive. And the baby died, and Swarswoti was there. When Swarswoti was coming back from Kathamandu, she went there, and if Swarswoti was not there the mom could have also died because Gundark is one of the busiest hospitals, and sometimes it is difficult to get care from the health worker at that hospital. So the SBA was there, and she was strict, and if she had not been there the mom could also die.
Do you have any kids of your own? If yes, where did you give birth? Were there any complications?
Assim K.C. (5 years old)
She said, “I gave birth in hospital, and I have one child. She had no complications, but her water broke before two days, so she went to hospital and she gave delivery normally. After delivery she said she feel so weak, she said, “I think because of the labour pain. I was so weak I could not stand up, I could not get up from my bed by myself, and I cannot eat by myself. So my family member had to support me to get up from my bed, and they need to feed me. So I feel really weak after giving birth.
What advice does she have for young women in the community?
So she said, “I want to offer the young women, the younger women then me, I want to give suggestion don’t get married in early age. You should get married after 20, 21 you should get married. And don’t get pregnant at early age because the uterous is not so strong in young age. If you give birth at a young age, there is a risk of uteren prolapse, so be careful. For my BDC young women she said, for the pregnant women and the family I want to suggest to take care of her. And to take care of herself. And to not give birth to too many children. She said, two child is god gifted. So just have two child, boy or girl it doesn’t matter. And for the pregnant women they need to be careful themselves.
Interview conducted by Kelly McIlvenny in Narayansthan in July 2011, translated by Ang Jangmu Sherpa.
