Woman Forced to Give Birth Outside Hospital Due to Lack of Funds

Kathmandu. A painful incident where a new mother had to give birth outside the hospital premises due to lack of money has been raised in the House of Representatives meeting. Rashtriya Swatantra Party MP Khagendra Karna raised the incident that occurred at Gajendra Narayan Singh Hospital in the House of Representatives meeting. Karna drew the government's attention to the extreme negligence happening in the name of health treatment. According to Karna, the wife of Hareram Paswan of Saptari, Babita Paswan, had reached the hospital when she was in labor. The hospital administration had stated that a bill of 32 hundred rupees had to be paid, but they only had 25 hundred rupees. After hesitating for treatment due to lack of money, the woman was ultimately forced to give birth outside the hospital premises. Karna commented that it is a shame for the entire health system to force a new mother to give birth outside the hospital without receiving treatment in a sensitive place like a hospital. Karna said – ‘Gajendra Narayan Singh Hospital in Saptari is a center of hope for health treatment for the poor, destitute, and helpless citizens. But, in that very hospital, a pregnant woman was forced to give birth on the road outside the hospital gate due to lack of money. This is the pathetic state of our health system.’ Karna, drawing the government's serious attention to this matter, said, ‘We are sitting here talking big things, but this incident has clearly exposed the condition of poor, victimized, and Dalit women.’ Karna demanded that the concerned minister immediately investigate the truth of the incident, present the factual details to the parliament, and take action against the guilty. Karna's demand is to end the situation where citizens have to give birth on the road due to lack of treatment.