Project Comprehensive Health and Rural Development Society (CHARDS)

Neetu, a 24-year-old woman was hesitant to share the news of her pregnancy at home due to her husband’s struggle with alcoholism. Besides this, her family heavily relied on untrained, non-professional doctors which could pose a serious risk to her pregnancy care.

When the CRY America project team learned that Neetu was six months pregnant and had not yet registered at the local Primary Health Centre, they immediately intervened. The team educated Neetu on the importance of Antenatal Care (ANC) and encouraged her to register herself in the Anganwadi Center (AWC).

During her first ANC check-up at the Village Health Sanitation and Nutrition Day (VHSND), Neetu was diagnosed with a high-risk pregnancy due to critically low haemoglobin levels of just 5.9 HB. The frontline workers referred her to the district hospital for an urgent blood transfusion. However, due to poor infrastructure and lack of proper arrangements, she was unable to receive timely care.

Determined to ensure Neetu received the treatment she needed, the project team escalated her case to the District Maternal Health Officer. With persistent efforts, they succeeded in arranging one free unit of blood for her transfusion. Once she was out of immediate danger, Neetu began attending regular transfusion sessions and was prescribed Iron Folic Acid (IFA) tablets to boost her haemoglobin levels.

With continuous care and follow-up by frontline workers, Neetu’s condition steadily improved. To ensure she remained healthy, the project team involved local community stakeholders to counsel her family on the importance of maternal nutrition and dietary care. They also linked the family to better food practices and ensured that Neetu received Take Home Rations (THR) from the local Anganwadi Centre (AWC).

With the support of the project team and frontline health workers, Neetu successfully recovered from her high-risk pregnancy and leads a healthy life today.