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Nai Shwe Marma reffered to Communicty Clinic by SAPLING CHSW, Thowaigya Para, Kuhalong Union, Bandarban, October 2017.
Nai Shwe Marma, 30, is an expecting mother who lives with her husband, Hohda Mong Marma, and their ten-year old son in Thowaigya Para, Kuhalong Union, Bandarban. Her husband is a day laborer and works in Jhum land allotted by the Karbari, or village head.
Nai Shwe became a SAPLING participant in May 2017 as a member of Maternal and Child Health and Nutrition (MCHN) group. As of September 2017, she had attended four courtyard sessions facilitated by SAPLING’s Community Health Services Worker (CHSW) Prue May Marma. Nai Shwe said she learned a lot about health and nutrition and talked about how she knows more now about nutritional needs of pregnant and lactating mothers, the benefits of exclusive breastfeeding for babies up to six months and complementary feeding after than, as well as the importance of dietary diversity and handwashing. “I learned that, during pregnancy, it is necessary to monitor my weight regularly as it represents my baby’s growth”, said Nai Shwe.
Nai Shwe tells how one night a few weeks ago, in the sixth month of her pregnancy, she began to have severe pain in her womb and started bleeding prematurely. “Being afraid, my husband and I consulted with Prue May. She advised me to drink plenty of water and assured me that she would help me get to the Community Clinic in the morning”, Nai Swe recalls. “The next morning, I went to the Community Clinic. They registered me, provided me with medicine and referred me to Smiling Sun Clinic for ultrasonography”, she added. Everything was okay, but Nai Shwe was grateful to have someone who could assist her to find help.
Nai Shwe has had three antenatal check-ups since then. She is expecting the baby to be born in November 2017. “This is my second child. My first son was born in my house with the assistance of a Traditional Birth Attendant in our village. I am afraid of convulsion during delivery, but the doctor told me that the position of my infant is pretty good now. I am very happy,” said Nai Shwe. She is taking folic acid and calcium tablets prescribed by the clinic regularly.
“I want to deliver my baby in hospital this time, because I do not want to take any risk”, said Nai Swe. “Also, I will eat nutritious food soon after my delivery that I didn’t eat during my first childbirth due to traditional beliefs”, she added.
Nai Shwe is also a member of a SAPLING Integrated Enhanced Homestead Food Production (IEHFP) group where she received training on homestead food production and initial input support in the form of two seeds distributions. They planted the summer seeds in their jhum land. Their crops were partially damaged by the excessive rainfall and landslides that occurred this year, but they consumed the vegetables that survived from the disaster. Nai Shwe just recently received the second seed packet and looks forward to sowing them and having a good harvest this winter.
This year, SAPLING supported 5,774 pregnant and lactating women like Nai Shwe, educating them on health and nutrition and supplying better seeds to promote uptake of improved technologies and nutritional habits.
Nai Shwe Marma reffered to Communicty Clinic by SAPLING CHSW, Thowaigya Para, Kuhalong Union, Bandarban, October 2017.
Nai Shwe Marma, 30, is an expecting mother who lives with her husband, Hohda Mong Marma, and their ten-year old son in Thowaigya Para, Kuhalong Union, Bandarban. Her husband is a day laborer and works in Jhum land allotted by the Karbari, or village head.
Nai Shwe became a SAPLING participant in May 2017 as a member of Maternal and Child Health and Nutrition (MCHN) group. As of September 2017, she had attended four courtyard sessions facilitated by SAPLING’s Community Health Services Worker (CHSW) Prue May Marma. Nai Shwe said she learned a lot about health and nutrition and talked about how she knows more now about nutritional needs of pregnant and lactating mothers, the benefits of exclusive breastfeeding for babies up to six months and complementary feeding after than, as well as the importance of dietary diversity and handwashing. “I learned that, during pregnancy, it is necessary to monitor my weight regularly as it represents my baby’s growth”, said Nai Shwe.
Nai Shwe tells how one night a few weeks ago, in the sixth month of her pregnancy, she began to have severe pain in her womb and started bleeding prematurely. “Being afraid, my husband and I consulted with Prue May. She advised me to drink plenty of water and assured me that she would help me get to the Community Clinic in the morning”, Nai Swe recalls. “The next morning, I went to the Community Clinic. They registered me, provided me with medicine and referred me to Smiling Sun Clinic for ultrasonography”, she added. Everything was okay, but Nai Shwe was grateful to have someone who could assist her to find help.
Nai Shwe has had three antenatal check-ups since then. She is expecting the baby to be born in November 2017. “This is my second child. My first son was born in my house with the assistance of a Traditional Birth Attendant in our village. I am afraid of convulsion during delivery, but the doctor told me that the position of my infant is pretty good now. I am very happy,” said Nai Shwe. She is taking folic acid and calcium tablets prescribed by the clinic regularly.
“I want to deliver my baby in hospital this time, because I do not want to take any risk”, said Nai Swe. “Also, I will eat nutritious food soon after my delivery that I didn’t eat during my first childbirth due to traditional beliefs”, she added.
Nai Shwe is also a member of a SAPLING Integrated Enhanced Homestead Food Production (IEHFP) group where she received training on homestead food production and initial input support in the form of two seeds distributions. They planted the summer seeds in their jhum land. Their crops were partially damaged by the excessive rainfall and landslides that occurred this year, but they consumed the vegetables that survived from the disaster. Nai Shwe just recently received the second seed packet and looks forward to sowing them and having a good harvest this winter.
This year, SAPLING supported 5,774 pregnant and lactating women like Nai Shwe, educating them on health and nutrition and supplying better seeds to promote uptake of improved technologies and nutritional habits.