Feature




Wrishi Thakur Raphael

Dr Khan was looking for a male volunteer to step up for the task. No one moved an inch. Sabuj could barely grasp the gist of proceedings before our guide- a stout firm veteran in her fifties exclaimed 'Yes you! Come here!'

No sooner had Sabuj come close to Dr khan, a big sac weighing no less than 10 kilos was tied around his gut .He soon began to look like a circus clown with a pot belly, reminiscent of a severely bloated version of Winnie the Poo.

Sabuj grimaced something about being the innocent victim of circumstances (!!) The rest of us were either laughing out loud or taking pictures of “Miss Congeniality, Male but Pregnant”. This sac as awkward, heavy & uncomfortable as it may look or feel, is tied around all future dads to give them a realization of what their wives have to put with throughout the nine month period of pregnancy.

It's quite amazing that there are such organizations in our country which practice training of this sort .We visited the Mother & Child Health &training Institute in Azimpur. This organization started its activities as early as 1953 when the numbers of beds were only 20 & services were limited. The institute metamorphosized to its present state in June 2000.The number of beds are 173 &the services they provide are the best in the public sector. Among them are:

(a) Providing counseling sessions to potential couples.
(b) Immunization of mother & child
(c) Promotion & training on breast feeding techniques among new mothers.

This hospital's present status is a result of financial & logistics support provided by the Japanese Ministry of Health & Family Welfare. The four storied building & everything inside it, that includes bed sheets & curtains is just a gesture of Japan's undying friendship.

The outdoor & indoor services are maintained by 16 medical officers (10 gynecologists, 6 pediatricians) 3senior consultants, 5junior consultants & 140 medical 7non medical staff. The organization has been declared a children friendly hospital by WHO &UNICEF in 1997.

While walking through the children's ward, our guide received an SMS informing her to show up at labor room 5 where a delivery was about to start. We asked Dr Khan if we could watch from a distance .A bit reluctant at first, she soon agreed. We changed into their OT clothes masks, caps & gowns & waited in front of labor room 5 for Dr Khan to take us in. By the time we had reached the amniotic fluid (commonly known as water) had started to escape. The uterine contractions that had begun were strong &prolonged. The opening of the uterus (CERVIX) had dilated & the doctors were applying pressure to facilitate the process. The poor mother was feeling the full intensity of labor. The excruciating pain seemed to numb her senses. Madonna tried her best to push on but the all encompassing pain set her off, to a frenzy of wails &screams. I suppose the divine & unconditioned love mothers have for their children greatly owes to the pain moms feel at the time of childbirth.

It was barely 15 minutes before Miss Muffin came screaming into our world. There she was probably 7.5 pounds of pink flesh, with intact body parts & of course, with the cord attached to her umbilicus. Dr Khan efficiently clamped &cut the cord .Technically Miss Muffin could start to live a live of her own. Life wasn't all that easy for little Miss Muffin after all. It had been her first time from darkness into light. The brightness had been too much for her rods &cones to handle. All her movements &screams seemed to be centered on one thought only

“Get that light out of my face”

While one group of personnel was taking care of Miss Muffin, her mom had to undergo the afterbirth. Anxious to get a glimpse of her child, Madonna started to look around frantically. The sigh of relief on seeing her beautiful baby girl was an expression of eternal bliss & tranquility. Madonna could barely move, but the sight of her 12 inch world of happiness was enough motivation for her to bend over a considerable distance& engage in a probing kiss with Miss Muffin.

(Medical Student)