Case Study:
Timely Hospitalization Saves a Baby:
On March 21st, 2013 the Vimukti charitable Trust (VCT) staff went to the Belwata village to do supportive supervision of Anganwadi and Asha, in Raichur Dist. After checking their forms for appropriate organization and formats, the staff went for assessment of a one month-and-twelve-days-old baby. When we reached the house, we found that the baby weighed only 2 kilograms. The child was also very cold, and was wearing just a small shirt and no warm clothes. Meanwhile, the grandmother who was upset with the mother came to us claiming that she was neglecting the baby and not attending to the baby’s poor health. We also learned that instead of milk, the mother was feeding the baby with tea and local drinks. As a result the baby had continuous diarrhea.

The staff determined that the baby was suffering from hypothermia and low birth weight. Along with Asha the staff suggested that the family must take the baby immediately to a hospital. But the mother was reluctant to go to the hospital, explaining that her husband had been too preoccupied with work and did not give sufficient attention and care for the child. We had to give to the family an extensive counseling until they were convinced of the critical the situation in which the baby was. The staff instructed the mother how to care for the baby at home, and advised the mother to maintain cleanliness in and around the house and feed the baby with some healthy food. The staff assured the mother that they would be available for support if any complication arose, and they would be back for five check-ups.

On the staff’s second visit, it found that the child displayed the symptoms of a severe bacterial infection. The older members of the family, however did not agree, and claimed the symptoms to be normal. With a prudent approach, the staff educated the family about similar cases in which baby’s condition would grow worse and without a proper treatment the baby would even lose life. Realizing the seriousness of the matter, they were ready to go the district hospital for the treatment.

During the counseling, the VCT staff taught the mother the KMC (Kangaroo Mother Care) Techniques to increase the baby’s body temperature. The staff advised the family that it is important to dress the baby always with warm clothes, in order to protect it from being affected by the cold weather. After the parents took the child to the hospital, it began to enjoy good health, and the mother was grateful to the Vimukti staff for their effort to save the baby. “Our ignorance about taking proper care of the child would have cost its life,” she exclaimed.