Odisha Pregnant Woman Taken To Hospital On Charpoy Amidst Cyclone Yaas

Odisha pregnant woman: Cyclone Yaas hit the coast of Odisha with a wind speed of 130-140 km per hour on Wednesday morning. Reportedly, a 25-year-old pregnant woman from Balasore district was carried to the hospital on a charpoy amidst the natural calamity.

Odisha pregnant woman carried to hospital on charpoy

Sonali Nath, a 25-year-old pregnant woman was at her parents house in Bhalabhadrapur village of Soro block, Balasore when cyclone Yaas lashed the state. Her due date was June 17, but she went into labour moments after the cyclone made its way to the Balasore coast. She delivered her first child, a baby boy after Yaas touched down on the coat near Bahanaga, less than 10 km from her village.

Nath's father Sambhu was worried because the placenta did not drop from the womb. Speaking to a leading daily, he said that his daughter was howling in pain. They kept calling an ambulance to carry her to the nearest Public Health Centre (PHC) but did not receive any response. "Feeling helpless we went to the local ASHA (About Accredited Social Health Activist) worker but she also refused to help as her name was registered with the ASHA of her in-law's place," he added.

As the woman's condition was getting critical, he went to the local PHC for help and asked for some medicines. But he was turned down on the pretext that if something went wrong with the patient, the PHC would not be responsible. Sambhu did not find any other option but to carry his daughter and the newborn baby to the hospital on a charpoy after wrapping in a plastic sheet.

"It was raining hard and the wind made it very difficult even to go out but we had no other option," the father said. He carried his daughter and her newborn son for about 10 km. The road was muddy due to the cyclonic rain. The breaches on road made by the locals to drain out the flood water made their journey even more difficult.

Finally they saw an auto rickshaw. Sambhu begged the driver to carry them to the community health centre at Soro, another 2 km away. After they reached the PHC at Soro, the doctor helped in getting the placenta out and sever the umbilical cord. The Odisha pregnant woman and her baby returned home on Thursday and are doing well.

Odisha health department officials claimed that more than 750 babies were born in the state before and during the landfall of cyclone Yaas on Wednesday. Earlier, he government had said that about 4,555 pregnant women had been evacuated to hospitals before the cyclone.