"I spent over Rs 60,000 to stay in the hotel," says Kristina. "If our village had a good birthing center, a maximum of Rs 2,000 would have sufficed for me to deliver my child."
Laluma Gurung of Barpak VDC-2, also in Gorkha district, likewise stayed in a hotel at district headquarters for two weeks to deliver her child. She says she has been advised by doctors to rest for two weeks more, meaning that she cannot return to her village immediately. [break]
Like Kristina and Lalumaya, many pregnant women, especially those from relatively well-off families, now come to district headquarters to give birth. They say they cannot get proper deliver services at local health facilities. While some pregnant women stay with relatives, many need to book hotel rooms. According to Gorkha District Hospital, one-third of pregnant women coming from the villages to give birth stay in hotels.
Kristina´s husband Sohan Gurung, who accompanied his wife to district headquarters, said they decided to birth their child at the district hospital as the health post in their village lack trained hands. "None of the health workers at the local health post are trained. We could not trust them," he says. "So, we decided to visit district headquarters and stay there until we were able to welcome the new member of our family."
As it would not be practical for pregnant women to visit district headquarters whenever they need to undergo a pregnancy test, many of them decided to sojurn at district headquarters. Most villages lack proper road connections to district headquarters. The rains have damaged almost all the village roads. As husbands cannot take their wives to district hospitals by ambulance given the poor condition of the roads, they prefer to come to hospital weeks before the actual delivery date.
Earlier, all pregnant women visiting district headquarters wanted to get admitted to hospitals there weeks before delivery date. As this led to a shortage of hospital beds, the district hospital issued a notice recently making it clear that pregnant women can get admission just one week before their delivery date. This new provision has also caused many pregnant women to stay in hotels.
"As many pregnant women visit the district hospital, we cannot provide all of them with beds," says Dr Keshav Raj Bhurtel, chief of the district hospital. "We can keep them in the hospital only for a few days."
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