Rupa Seth (name changed), 22, resides in Nehru Nagar, Andheri, Mumbai. Her husband is the sole breadwinner in the family and works for a private company. Roshni Shinde, our Community Mobiliser (CM), identified and enrolled Rupa as a pregnant woman when she was expecting her third child. Roshni did not know about Rupa’s third pregnancy initially. During one of the visits to Rupa’s home, Roshni found out that Rupa had lost both her new borns within a week of birth.

Back then, the doctors could not identify the reason behind the mishap. On knowing about this, Roshni advised Rupa to get admitted to a hospital for proper care and treatment. This was when Rupa informed the CM about her plans to deliver her third child in her hometown. Roshni tried counselling Rupa and asked her to register at Cooper Hospital in Mumbai instead, keeping her health in mind. On her second follow-up visit, when our CM prodded Rupa further, she registered herself at the Cooper hospital for all Ante-Natal Care (ANC) services.

Doctors even recommended a C-Section delivery during Rupa’s third trimester. However, she declined due to fear. But our CM didn’t give up and counselled Rupa once more, whereafter she agreed to a C-Section. Eventually, Rupa gave birth to a healthy baby. During the doctors’ investigation, it was found that her previous borns had suffered from the nuchal cord (An umbilical cord that is wrapped around a baby’s neck in utero), which resulted in their deaths. Due to our Community Mobiliser’s hard work and perseverance, Rupa overcame her fears. She could identify the cause behind the deaths of her newborns and eventually received the needed help to deliver a healthy baby.