Labi Thami, 27, of the mountainous village of Khanigaun in Sunkhani-3 died Monday evening after delivering a son at nine in the morning. The Thami family didn´t know that maternity care is available for free at the primary health center in Devisthan an hour-trek away. Thamis constitute a small indigenous community. [break]
Labi gave birth with help of a neighbor also because she had had her two sons -- now seven and four years old -- delivered at home previously. But she started bleeding profusely and collapsed after the delivery. She died without regaining consciousness in the evening, according to neighbor Devi Bahadur Budhathoki.
Medical Superintendent at the District Hospital in Chautara Dr Rajendra Panta said Labi may have lost her life due to complications during delivery. “She could have been saved if taken to hospital on time,” Dr Panta said.
“The placenta may have been stuck in the uterine muscles. There is excessive bleeding in such cases and high risk of loss of life if not taken to health centers immediately,” Dr Panta added.
The harvest from their small piece of land would suffice for just three months for the Thami couple. Labi and her husband Chankhe, hence, had to work on daily wages to make ends meet. The death of Labi now leaves Chankhe with the additional burden of buying milk for the infant. “He can´t even afford to buy milk daily,” neighbor Budhathoki said.
An assistant nurse midwife (ANM) in the village, Renuka Neupane, said Labi had gone just once to the health center. “Her limbs were swollen on the only occasion when she came here. I had advised her to come for regular checkups but she didn´t. I learnt more about her case only after her death,” Neupane said.
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