National Desk :
Maria Union Health and Family Welfare Center (UH&FWC) has attained trust and confidence of the village mothers, especially the expectant ones, as it has been ensuring primary healthcare services to the target group of people since its resumption around two years back.
Since its revival in October 2019, the centre has been ensuring maternal, neonatal and child health care services benefiting the rural people at present. It has also arranged normal deliveries of 32 pregnant mothers, including 26 this year, successfully with close supervision of Family Welfare Visitor (FWV) Hafeza Khatun till August last.
“I was blessed with my second baby through normal delivery at Maria UH&FWC on February 5 last,” said Beauty Begum, 25, wife of Raju Ahmed of Nimpara village, adding they are very much happy with their newborn.
Shilpi Begum, 30, who gave birth to her third baby through normal delivery at the centre on January 28 last, said the centre has become a boon for the local mothers.
“We had no ability to go to the upazila or district level hospital for delivery due to financial constraint,” she added.
Located in Bagmara Upazila, Maria UH&FWC mandated to ensure primary healthcare services to 19,487 people, including 9,796 females, is now being adjudged as the way of eradicating their long-lasting pain through gaining access to a nearby health facility.
Maria Union Parisahd (UP) Chairman Aslam Ali Askan told BSS that the labor room of the centre has been enriched with essential equipment including a labor table, oxygen cylinder and refrigerator for the sake of boosting institutional delivery in the rural area.
“We have referral services for the mothers suffering from various pregnancy-related complexities like vaginal bleeding, eclampsia, severe headaches and fever and delayed labor,” said Khatun.
UP Chairman Aslam Ali said the centre has been revived with the initiative of the Public Health Improvement Initiatives Rajshahi (PHIIR) project for welfare of local pregnant mothers, particularly the poor and ultra-poor of the community.
He said the FWV was given appointment as contributory staff with financial support of the project. On Wednesday last, Upazila Nirbahi Officer Faruq Sufian accompanied by Medical Officer Dr Amirul Islam, Family Planning Officer Golam Mohiddin and UP Chairman Ali Askan visited the facility expressing their satisfaction over its activities.
“We have provided 596 antenatal care, 67 postnatal care, 536 family planning, 3,742 child health and 8,761 general health services during the same period,” said FWV Hafeza Khatun.
DASCOH Foundation has been implementing the PHIIR project supported by Swiss Red Cross in five upazila health complexes, 42 UHFWCs and 110 Community Clinics under Bagmara, Charghat and Tanore upazilas in Rajshahi and Porsha and Sapahar upazilas in Naogaon districts.
The project is intended to improve the health status of the targeted population with special focus on maternal, neonatal and child health at primary health care level, said Tozammel Haque, Manager of PHIIR Project.
On behalf of the project, essential equipment like refrigerators, delivery beds, maternal care checkup beds, oxygen cylinders, weight scales, waste bins and curtains are being provided for labor rooms of the UH&FWCs and Union Sub Centers (USCs) to make those fit for providing various reproductive healthcare services including normal delivery.
Mahbub Alam, Divisional Director of the Department of Family Planning, said the government and non-government collaborative efforts are being judged as substantial and sustainable promotion of institutional delivery besides reducing maternal and neonatal deaths.
He said utmost emphasis has been given on remote counseling of pregnant women over phone, especially those with approaching expected date of delivery with specialized advice on pregnancy care and birth preparedness plan keeping the Covid-19 challenges in mind.
Professor Shaleha Jeshmin, former head of the Department of obstetrics and gynecology in Rajshahi Medical College and Hospital, said strengthening the union level health facilities could be the vital means of achieving the country’s ambitious targets related to curbing maternal and newborn mortality rates.
“We have made remarkable progress towards reducing the maternal and neonatal mortality rates over the last couple of years, but there are furthermore emergency works to be done,” she said.
