Pregnant women at risk for miscarriages, even death
The UN estimates 40,000 pregnant women were among the 4 million people affected by the Oct 8 earthquake. Health officials say the temblor may have triggered miscarriage and premature labour, and could worsen Pakistan’s already dismal statistics on infant mortality. At the best of times, Pakistan’s health care system is barely adequate. The earthquake has heightened the problems by destroying most of the medical clinics and hospitals in the NWFP and Azad Kashmir.
“The primary health care system is all broken down,” said Shahida Fazil of the
Of 30 deliveries in the last 10 days at the Abbas Institute of Medical Science-the only hospital left standing in Muzaffarabad-six were stillbirths, hospital officials said. There also have been at least 10 miscarriages at the hospital since the quake.
Dr Razia Korejo, who heads a team of volunteer doctors, said she expects to see more stillbirths, miscarriages and premature labours. Korejo said higher infant and maternal mortality rates could persist in the quake zone if survivors don’t get adequate health care. “If they can’t reach care, (mothers and babies) could easily die,” she said.
Women treated at the hospital are the lucky ones. Some 800,000 people in remote areas have been virtually cut off since the quake, with no aid or medical care. Pakistan already has one of the worst child mortality rates. According to a
“The first issue is that women are coming for care not because of pregnancy-related issues but because they have other injuries. The biggest challenge we have is that we see ladies coming in with multiple fractures. Then (during examination) we find out about intrauterine deaths,” he said.
Tasleem Liaqat, 25, recounted a harrowing tale that began when the walls of her home in the village of Kialla swayed during the quake. Trapped under debris, she was pulled out after an hour by neighbours, her leg badly broken. Two hours later, Tasleem-lying outside and alone-delivered her baby daughter, born a month early. Weak and shivering, Tasleem pulled a plastic sheet over herself and the infant when it began raining.
Her husband, who was working in Lahore, didn’t return home until the third day after the quake, and had to walk the last 30 kilometres.
Tasleem reached the hospital in Muzaffarabad eight days after the quake, riding in a cart pulled by her husband and three neighbours. Her right leg clamped in a metal brace on a hospital bed, Tasleem cradled her new daughter in her arms. “I don’t remember anything but the pain. So much pain,” she says softly, her eyes misting at the memory.
Source: The News
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