As all her children have died, Marangmai Tudu is embittered that there is no one left to call her mother.
Marangmai got married to Sanju Tudu 16 years ago. She gave birth to her twelfth child, a son, on December 18 last year. [break]The child passed away just a week after birth. Before this, she suffered the bereavement of eight daughters and three sons.
All the children she gave birth to were born just six to eight months after conception. “I couldn´t save even a single child,” Marangmai told Republica.
All the twelve children were born in her house. Her first child died a month after being born, while the rest died within a week after birth, Marangmai said.
The Tudu couple earns a living selling labor. Two children is all that the couple wishes for. Marangmai sought medical help to save her twelfth baby. She took him to BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences. Doctors said the infant needed to be kept in intensive care and that saving him would require a lot of money. Marangmai had no choice but to leave the hospital with her baby.
The Primary Health Post at Jhurkiya has advised Marangmai to stay in the hospital right from conception till delivery to save another fetus. “But I don´t have enough money to do that,” she said.
According to health workers, the premature deliveries resulted from lack of proper healthcare, including medical tests, nutrition, and rest. They said sexual intercourse during pregnancy can cause such eventualities.
“The main problem was lack of care during pregnancy,” said Dinesh Kumar Karna, chief of Jhurkiya Health Post.
According to Marangmai, most of the times, she did not even notice that she was about to deliver a child. “They are born without me undergoing labor pain,” she said.
Dr Yogendra Mishra, gynecologist at Koshi Zonal Hospital, said that giving birth to a child at a very young age can lead to such problems and that Marangmai must undergo medical tests.
“She needs to undergo blood and womb tests,” Dr Mishra said. “If the uterus is enlarged, stitches might be required to prevent premature delivery,” she said.
Marangmai gave birth to her first child when she was just 18. Every time she gets pregnant, she visits a shaman. She has visited doctors just thrice. According to Sanju, the couple kept from visiting doctors due to weak financial condition.
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