“Parched
lips and sunken eye
I
lay on cot and look at the sky
The
strength has died, my limbs are sore
The
body is drained, the vitals no more
My
heart aches as I look at my son
For
he is alone in the journey ahead
Bidding
adieu is hard to do
I
kiss my newborn one last time”
This
short poem is dedicated to all the mothers who have died while bringing a new
life into this world, mostly due to inaccessibility of proper medical care,
especially those living in remote localities. Teenage marriages, unplanned pregnancy, unsafe
abortion are all accountable. The other starting statistics shows that many
couples still have no accessibility to family planning choices or rather women
have no say in this matter which ultimately results in unwanted pregnancies.
Though
India has reduced maternal mortality as compared to past records but still India has highest number of maternal deaths.
The goal should be that no mother has to die pertaining to any child birth complications. This journey of pregnancy and
motherhood should be a celebration of new life and not mourning or grieving for
a lost soul.
Big Picture:
UNICEF India
Globally, about 800 women die
every day of preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth; 20 per cent of these women are from India.
Annually, it is estimated that 55,000 women die due to preventable pregnancy-related causes in India.
Mothers in the lowest economic bracket have about a two and a half times higher mortality rate.
We
live in a developing society; we have good approach to healthcare. Women in our
society are more educated and independent. But still most part of India is shrouded
in ignorance, the rural India, where the very meaning of development is not
known. Awareness, education and
healthcare facilities need to penetrate those nook and corners where people die
of ailments which were much curable and treatable.
(Image – Here)
20% - we contribute heavily to the world statistics and mostly in the wrong categories. Our medical system is in deplorable state.
ReplyDeletePoem is very moving.
You are right, we are at many wrong categories. Medical system is getting worse. We are really heading to a scary end. Just hoping that things get better.
DeleteThanks for liking the poem.
This is so sad :(
ReplyDeleteVery touching poem, Swati.
Thanks a lot Purba. :-)
DeleteI assumed this happened only in olden days. How sad for the new born. There are many cases as well because of the carelessness of docs and nurses. Praying for all our facilities and care to improve in the coming years. Thanks for sharing this thought, Swati.
ReplyDeleteThanks Nandhini for sharing your thoughts. We can only pray and hope for the best. Really hope medical services improve in the coming years.
DeleteA forceful poem and post that follows highlighting the high maternal mortality during childbirths especially in the rural sides even when medical science has advanced greatly.It is the lack of hospital facilities and trained nurses in these places that compel recourse to unprofessional midwives in unclean surroundings.A lot needs to be done.
ReplyDeleteMedical science has improved a lot but rural area still suffers same plight. Indeed a lot of effort is required.
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