Pregnant Lima Begum had labor pain in Haragachh of Kaunia upazila of Rangpur at around 6:30 evening. Then the family tried to deliver the child with the local midwives at home. But in the long run, the midwife fails to deliver the child. The family members took her to the local Haragachh Mother and Child Welfare Center at around 11 pm to give birth to a safe child.
But the lock was hanging on the outer gate of the Mother and Child Welfare Center. Meanwhile, Lima Begum was in acute labor pains. Later, Lima Begum gave birth to a baby girl in the front yard of the Center building without any health worker or midwife. The family members returned home with the mother and newborn baby at around 1 o'clock in the night.
The incident took place in front of Haragachh Mother and Child Welfare Center in Kaunia upazila of Rangpur around 12:30 night on Tuesday (November 9). Lima Begum is the wife of Shahadat Hossain of Mofizpara village in Charnajirdaha of Haragachh Union.
According to locals, most of the people in Haragachh area of Kaunia upazila of Rangpur are day laborers. Haragacha Mother and Child Welfare Center is the only hope for safe and normal delivery of pregnant women of poor families. But even there, pregnant women are being deprived of health care.
Services at the Health Center remains closed for a long time at night. The Health Center is closed every day from afternoon till the next morning. As a result, any pregnant woman who comes to the Center at night for safe and normal delivery faces trouble.
Rana Mia of Minabazar area said that poor people are not getting services at Haragachh Mother and Child Welfare Center. As a result, many pregnant women who come for services are in danger and are forced to give birth in the bushes around the Mother and Child Welfare Center.
Lima Begum's husband Shahadat Hossain said that if he had been late for some time, both his wife and children would have died. By the grace of Allah, his wife and children survived. Allah is the only hope of the poor.
Jannatul Ferdous, Family Welfare Visitor in charge of Haragachh Mother and Child Welfare Center, said that although 24-hour pregnant women are supposed to be served, there are three nurses here including two midwives. But it is not possible for three people to provide 24 hours service. That is why pregnant women are being served six days a week from 9 am to 3:30 pm six days a week.
In this regard, Upazila Family Planning Officer Sahidul Islam said, "It is sad to have a safe and normal child on the grass outside the Mother and Child Welfare Center. We are taking the matter seriously.”
Saidul Islam, Deputy Director of the Rangpur Family Planning Department, said Mother and Child Welfare Centers at the union level were a haven for helpless and poor people for safe and normal childbirth. But the service is being disrupted due to manpower problem.