Mahamuda Bibi writhes in pain from the labour contractions that have started, but she has to stay strong till she reaches the hospital. However, unlike most urban women, who are driven there in an ambulance, or a vehicle, Mahamuda will have to walk 16 km from her village, Faridpur Pakurdiar to reach the nearest Primary Health Centre (PHC) in Sadhikandiar, for her delivery, if she can hold it till there. The long roads don't always reach these women to their destinations on time. "Many times pregnant women give birth on the way before they reach the hospital," reveals Jayanti Sarkar, Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANM), Faridpur to our Video Volunteers Community Correspondent, Nesatun Khatun.
Due to the lack of doctors and needed facilities, the PHC of Faridpur Pakurdiar was functional only for a year before it shut its doors. While the National Rural Health Mission's official website claims that West Bengal has more than enough doctors at PHCs (required 909, in place 1006), this video report unviels the gap between the ground reality and data.
"It will be a blessing if Pakurdiar gets a doctor. These women will not have to face dangers," appeals Jayanti. Help Mahamuda and other mothers to have a safe, institutional delivery by calling Amar Ghosh, the Block Medical Officer of Health in charge on +91-9609320925
This video was made by a Video Volunteers Community Correspondent Nesatun Khatun.
Community Correspondents come from marginalised communities in India and produce videos on unreported stories.
These stories are ’news by those who live it.’ They give the hyperlocal context to global human rights and development challenges.
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