Awareness on nutrition requires for mothers, newborns
BSS
Hosne Ara Begum (22), a resident of Mirpur who gave birth to a dead child at her house with a help of a midwife instead of going to a hospital at the instruction of her hubby and mother-in-law, was saying that she has now been suffering from abdomen pain, weakness and other physical problems, reports BSS.
Whenever I turned up to a doctor to narrate my physical complications since giving birth to the dead child, the physician advised me to take nutritious foods and a complete rest. I remain always in a pensive mood since then, she said narrating her nightmarish tale to this correspondent.
Six years back, Rezia (26) of Chittagong fell ill soon after giving birth to a girl child with the assistance of a midwife well known to her family. She could not avail doctors advice during her pregnancy period for restrictions imposed by her elderly relatives at home and her in-laws.
She was not aware of the facts that immunization during pregnancy period is most essential and additional care including intake of nutritious foods is the prerequisite for the expecting mothers and their expecting children.
My parents are poor. My hubby runs a small grocery shop having a little income. I could not study in school for long due to poverty.
I could not say for sure that myself and my daughter passed even a single day in good health since the girls birth. Both of us are losing weight gradually. I went to a doctor who advised me to take blood and nutritious foods. But my husband became annoyed and sent me to my fathers house along with the baby. Since then he did not even inquired about us, said Rezia in a painstaking voice adding that she indents to commit suicide but could not do so staring at her daughters face.
Its not the lone bitter experience of Hosne Ara and Rezia only, but many women like Taiyeba, Shanti and Lima who have already gone through the identical experience owing to ignorance, shyness, superstitions, unawareness and the unwarranted dictates and pressure of the elderly persons in the family.
Such a shameful situation is not only prevailing in poor and uneducated families. But in some cases expecting mothers and their expecting children belonging to well-off families have to fall prey to such an unexpected situation in our society due to ignorance, lack of experience and imposed whimsical decisions of the elderly members of their families upon the daughters-in-law and the new born girl children.
Experts were of the opinion that the girls of Bangladesh usually suffer from hemoglobin deficiency and thats why they become weak physically after conceiving (children).
Along with their regular diet they need nutritious foods and proper rest and regular attendance of doctors after giving birth to newborns but in most cases, they could not avail the opportunity or right due to imposed instructions of the elderly members in the their families.
Ventilating her experience, Dr Sharmila Shandhi, clinic manager and physician of City Health Centre-2 of Urban Health Care Services Delivery Project under the LGRD Ministry, said expecting women belonging not only to poor and middle class but of the well-to-do families even do not turn up to doctors regularly not because of economic constraints but due to superstitions and lack of willingness.
She said that expecting mothers health risks and other complications could be reduced to some extent if they take regular advises from doctors during and after their period of pregnancy.
Dr Mohammad Shahidullah, a child specialist, said, We all have to be more aware of the facts of protecting the health of expecting mothers.
The lactating mothers should give shal doodth to her new born babies within one hour of birth to save him/her. It would help reduce child mortality (death) rate of new born babies by 31 per cent.
