National Association of Man for Mainkind

Surviving Malnutrition

Beginning the journey of life with under nutrition is not only painful; it too has a long lasting impact on the future of the child. The cycle of under nutrition can be prevented at any point, during the childhood, adolescent or at the time of pregnancy and post-delivery. However, it is not always the case for thousands of children, adolescents and mothers. Unawareness, poor financial situation, unavailability of proper food, health and care facilities and many times blind believes and cultural practices forces children, adolescents and mothers to fall into the cycle of under nutrition; of which it is difficult to come out without an external support.

Ambika is one of those thousands of children who fail into the cycle of under nutrition, but she survived. She was identified as a severely malnourished child by NAMM, when she was just 5 months old. Ambika is the fourth girl child to her parents Aloka Bhakta and Sunil Bhakta, who are also very young, probably in their thirties. Ambika’s mother Aloka married at very early age which led to early pregnancy. She delivered her first child seven years back.

The very next year, Aloka again became pregnant and delivered another girl child. The gap between both the children was just more than a year. Here came the wish to have a son, which resulted at the couple becoming the parents of four daughters.

The Bhakta family lives in Khas Jungle village of Jhargram district in West Bengal. In order to fulfil the basic needs both the couples work as seasonal labourers. Sometimes they too collect sal leafs from the forest and sale it to earn few bucks. The priority to earn for meeting the basic needs affected the lives of all of their children, especially Ambika, the youngest.

Ambika’s health started deteriorating. She started losing weight and looked pale. When the NAMM team identified Ambika, she was just 3.9 KG. Due to financial backwardness the couple were unable to take her to the doctor for the treatment. The local health worker convinced the couple to bring Ambika to the health camp.

It took almost four to five months for NAMM’s medical team to bring back Ambika to a normal situation. She was given required medicines and vitamins by the medical team and follow up has been done continuously with her parents, almost in every three days. NAMM has also conducted series of campaigns in the village to raise the awareness of mothers on nutrition.

The medical support along with the follow up home visits and counselling started showing results after a month. The health worker also convinced the mother for supplementary nutrition for Ambika and taking support from the Anganwadi centre.

At 11 months, Ambika is now 6.7KG, generally considered as the normal weight for a girl child at her age. Ambika’s mother promised not to go for a son and to take proper care of all her children.

Becoming a healthy mother

Pregnancy is a very critical period for a women. This is the time where the pregnant women needs proper nutrition, care and rest. However, in many rural areas there is lack of knowledge not only among the women but also among their family members regarding this. The lack of knowledge affects the health seeking behaviour and make the situation of the pregnant women more vulnerable.

In its operational villages of Jhargram district, NAMM has been playing a critical role in creating awareness and extending support to the pregnant mothers and their families.Arati was identified by NAAM when she was four month pregnant. Arati is married to Pabi Mahakud in Choto Khankili village of Jhargram district in West Bengal. She stays at home alone as her husband stays out most of the time for earning livelihood. There was no one to counsel and guide Arati on how to take care during pregnancy.

The health workers of NAMM identified Arati and convinced her to come to the medical camp for detail check-up. Arati met the doctor and started taking regular advice and medicines. She was prescribed with certain medications along with iron and vitamins. She was also advised by NAMM to use mosquito net at bed time and to maintain proper sanitation, as it is considered as necessary to avoid thousands of infections. The health worker visited her regularly and counselled her time to time on nutritious food, importance of taking rest and care. The medical team also convinced her for the institutional delivery.

Almost after five months, Arati gave birth to a baby boy. Now her baby is 6 month old. Both Mother and child are healthy. When any problem occurs with her baby Arati contacts with the medical team. She was also suggested to take the help of Anganwadi centre at the time of need by the NAAM team.

Arati is now more aware and helps NAMM in further intensifying its activities. She regularly participates in focus group meetings and counsels other pregnant women on how to take care of self during this critical phase of life.