Name: Baniya Bai, Age: 20 years, Husband's name: Idiya Village: Sukhpuri, Block: Barwani, District: Barwani Scheduled

Tribe

On the night of 11th November 2008, Baniya Bai was taken to the Menimata PHC for delivery by her father in-law, Dalsingh. She had completed nine months of pregnancy. They made the journey of 15 kilometres, on a bullock cart because no other transport was available. After admitting and taking a cursory look at her, the compounder, V.K. Chauhan, and nurse, Nirmala, went home. The next day, 12th November 2008, in the morning, Baniya Bai was asked by the compounder and the nurse to leave the hospital. Her family was asked for Rs. 100, which they did not have. The father-in-law immediately went to get the money from their village. Despite attempts to re-admit Baniya Bai in the hospital, the compounder flatly refused saying that they could not manage the delivery as Baniya Bai was anaemic, so she would have to go to Barwani. Though the Janani Express was called for, the driver of the vehicle, said that he needed permission from the Block Medical Officer (BMO), and then said that Baniya Bai should be brought to Silawad, after which she would be taken to Barwani in the Janani Express, because it was too costly to drive her from Menimata itself. Baniya Bai's relatives tried to get the Menimata hospital compounder, nurse and staff to call for an ambulance, but were unsuccessful. The family was told to make its own arrangements to go to Barwani. Baniya Bai managed to crawl out of the hospitals labour room, on to the road outside the PHC, where she lay down. She was in severe pain around 11:00 AM, and eventually, at 11:30 AM, Baniya Bai's motherin-law, Suvali Bai, went looking for a Dai in the marketplace, which was unusually crowded on the occasion of the villages weekly market. There, she found the Dai, Lambai Nana, who had come to collect her wages. After hearing about Baniya Bai's situation, Lambai agreed to assist her, and at around 12:00 PM, conducted a normal delivery on the road outside the hospital. The father-inlaw gave his dhoti (loin cloth) to provide cover for Baniya Bai during delivery. Following this incident, a crowd gathered outside the hospital. JADS activist, Madhuri, who was passing by, inquired about what was happening. She then called up the Silawad CHC, the Silawad Police Station as well as health officials from Barwani. Upon being informed, senior officials from the health department ordered for a vehicle to be sent immediately to the Menimata PHC.

Finally, Baniya Bai's ordeal ended and she and her child were taken to the Silawad hospital for admission. No doctor was posted at the PHC for a long time. Baniya Bai and her family said they could not remember when there had last been a regular doctor at the PHC, but there had been none for the past many years. The compounder was briefly suspended after repeated demands for action from JADS. But he was soon reinstated.

Observations from our interactions Baniya Bai who has also had another baby, had not heard about ASHA at all. The family received Rs. 1400 for the delivery.