Haleema (aged 18), wife of Shams Al-Haq had survived a complicated delivery due to Mother and Child healthcare Center (MCHC) in Kohistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. She shared that she was about to give birth to a child at her home, in the remote village, near Kohistan when the traditional wisdom failed to cater to her delivery. Pregnancy, mother, and child-related matters are considered highly private in the patriarchal, rigid, mountainous, and isolated communities in the northern areas of Pakistan.
She needed emergency technical assistance from a qualified nurse or health practitioner. It was a most distressful situation for her family. Someone told them that Mother and Child healthcare Center (MCHC), Kohistan remains open 24/7. Haleema reached MCHC, after a three-hour-long journey around 2 a.m. traveling on the rugged roads, hoping that somebody may be available with the required technical and procedural expertise, who may assist her in the critical moment of her life.
MCHC’s paramedic staff immediately stabilized Haleema’s blood pressure and ensured every possible assistance for the smooth child-birth process was in place. MCHC staff cleared the baby’s airway, maintained arterial line, and provided first aid, after which the baby cried and started breathing normally. The birth of the baby was a happy moment, not only for Haleema, who survived critical childbirth complications but there was joy among the MCHC nurses who save both lives of mother and child. Haleema’s father-in-law thanked MCHC staff and appreciated MCHC’s 24/7 emergency service for the mothers and children of District lower Kohistan.
Haleem and her family are convinced, that childbirth should take place in an environment, that ensures qualified medical technicians and should be preferred over the home.
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