Back to 'Her' Story

On my most recent trip to Rajasthan, I listened to stories of both joy and hardship amongst new mothers.
I met Sona, in a hospital corridor of the maternity ward, where patients were sent when the hospital was over capacity. Being the largest government hospital in Udaipur, catering to both urban and rural women of the surrounding districts, this was a common occurrence. Overwhelmed with great anticipation for any news regarding the well being of her new born baby, Sona anxiously grabbed my hands and shared her story….
Recovering from a c-section, Sona, had been in the hospital for over four days now. This was her third delivery, and in her two previous pregnancies, she had suffered seizures. Both of her children died in her womb. On this day, while she too was obviously enduring her own physical recovery, her third child was in ICU and she had yet to see him (she had given birth to a baby boy) even once since giving birth four days ago. Terrified that his life may end as soon as his siblings, Sona shared tears of grief and fear.
Intimately aware of the impact of seizures and blood clots in the brain, I was baffled as to how her two subsequent pregnancies after an initial high risk case, were left unmonitored. And given the complexity of her medical history, how lucky Sona was to be alive at all.