BAJURA: Muga Giri, 52, a resident of Budhinanda Municipality-1 in Bajura district gave birth to 18 children, of whom only eight survived. This sheds light into the plight of rural women in Nepal, who along with their children, suffer a great deal in lack of family planning and proper ante-natal and post-natal care.

I gave birth to all my children at home and in animal sheds, jungles and farms, Giri said. Due to lack of access to healthcare services, women in villages have been dependent on midwives for deliveries in cases they do not deliver on their own while working.

"I have suffered from stomach ache, back pain, heavy blood flow, weakness, uterine prolapse, among issues during and after my pregnancies," Giri recounted her experiences.

Giri had to struggle to care for her children while carrying out her daily chores. "There were times, in desperation, when I had to leave my children behind alone at home so that I could work. My body isn't in good condition due to multiple pregnancies and I am in constant pain," lamented Giri.

Giri did not go to school and feels her only job had been to bear children while her husband worked really had to feed their family.

Many mothers like her, with no access to primary healthcare services and family planning tools, have to deal with unexpected pregnancies multiple times and bear their consequences, said Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANM) Parmila Bista, who works at Kolti Primary Health Centre.