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🇳🇵 Nepal /Health & Science

One in five pregnancy airlift involves teenagers, exposes early marriage

From Kathmandu Post · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Context piece
  • One in five pregnancy-related helicopter evacuations in Nepal involves teenagers, highlighting issues of early marriage and delayed medical care.
  • Young mothers, some as young as 15, face life-threatening complications like postpartum hemorrhage due to lack of awareness and delayed hospital visits.
  • Despite successful airlifts in some cases, the article notes that not all teenage mothers survive these critical situations.

For 19-year-old Sushila Roka, a planned delivery of twins turned into a desperate fight for survival. Complications arose, and doctors at the Rukum West district hospital warned that the delay in reaching them had endangered her and her unborn babies.

Prepare yourselves for the worst. She was not brought in on time, and we cannot save the babies.

— Nandakala RokaSushila Roka's sister-in-law, recalling the doctors' warning at the district hospital.

"Prepare yourselves for the worst. She was not brought in on time, and we cannot save the babies," Sushila's sister-in-law, Nandakala Roka, recalled the doctors' grim prognosis. While Sushila eventually delivered both twins, one via emergency C-section, she suffered severe postpartum hemorrhage. This necessitated an airlift by a Nepali Army helicopter to the provincial hospital in Surkhet.

I don’t know if it was because she was so young, but even after delivery, the bleeding wouldn’t stop. As her condition deteriorated, we panicked.

— Nandakala RokaDescribing Sushila Roka's critical postpartum condition.

Sushila's case is not isolated. Fifteen-year-old Karuna Bista lost consciousness during labor, and another 15-year-old, Neelima Sherpa, required an airlift to Kathmandu after life-threatening bleeding post-delivery. Neelima expressed her terror, stating, "Instead of thinking about how I would deliver the baby, I was terrified about whether I would survive." These incidents underscore the critical dangers faced by very young mothers in Nepal, often linked to early marriage and a lack of understanding about pregnancy risks, leading to delayed medical attention.

Perhaps because she was so young, my daughter-in-law passed out during labour. My grandson was born while she was completely unconscious.

— Amrita BistaKaruna Bista's mother-in-law, describing her daughter-in-law's critical condition during childbirth.
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Originally published by Kathmandu Post. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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