Surrounding waters, extinguished life: A newborn's death exposes bare skeleton of haor's healthcare
A Z Al Muzahid, Kishoreganj
Surrounding all over with overflowing water and turbulent waves. While this scenery appears breathtaking from a distance, hidden behind it lies a cruel, life-and-death struggle of the Haor residents.
On Friday (June 26), due to the lack of a single drop of artificial oxygen on the filthy floor of a trawler in the middle of the Ashtagram haor in Kishoreganj, the life of an innocent newborn was extinguished forever. Departing this world just 10 minutes after seeing the light of day, this untimely demise has once again pointed fingers at the skeletal and brutal reality of the healthcare system in the haor region.
The first child was expected in the home of Aytul Islam Idu (24), a resident of Hablipara in East Ashtagram and a local mobile banking businessman, and Swapna Akhtar (20). A battle began at 4:00 AM on June 26 when Swapna went into labor. Although local traditional birth attendants (dais) and village doctors tried until 11:00 AM, the situation gradually grew more complex. Desperate to save his first child and wife, the father, Aytul, aimed to reach Jahurul Islam Medical College Hospital in Bhagalpur.
But why did they not go to the "Ashtagram Upazila Health Complex" despite having it close to home? With a heart full of grief, the father, Idu, said, we didn't go to the Upazila Health Complex because we were terrified that if we took her there, the doctors would just refer her elsewhere, wasting crucial time. We didn't have the courage to rely on the government hospital.
During the dry season, the journey takes only an hour. However, during the monsoon, relatives lost more than an hour and a half just searching for a ghat (boat terminal) and a trawler. No speedboats or high-speed government water ambulances were available. Finally, they set off with the pregnant woman from Deoghar Ghat on an ordinary engine-driven trawler.
On the way from Humayunpur to Patulighat, right in the middle of the haor, Swapna's labor pains intensified. Haris Miah (36), a computer operator of the Humayunpur Union Parishad, was traveling on that same boat with his sick mother. Describing the harrowing experience, he said, "There was no curtain on the boat. A mother was writhing in pain. I asked the boatman for a dirty plastic sheet used for rain protection and managed to create a makeshift screen. Behind that plastic sheet, on the wooden floor of the trawler, a beautiful baby girl was born."
He further added that though the baby was fine but midst the howling wind and roaring waves on the moving trawler, there was no oxygen cylinder. Writhing in Haris Miah's arms, the newborn went completely still within just 10 to 15 minutes. When she was later rushed to the Bajitpur Upazila Health Complex, the duty doctor declared that the baby had died before reaching the hospital.
The conscious community of Ashtagram is seething with anger over this heartbreaking incident. According to local residents, large roads and structures were built in the haor region during the tenure of the previous government, but the quality of healthcare did not improve even a bit. Even if doctors are posted to the hospital, they do not want to stay.
Decades after independence, the residents of the haor region remain deprived of fundamental rights like education and medical care. Due to the lack of an advanced hospital, critical patients still have to rush to Bhagalpur, Bhairab, or Kishoreganj town, which is highly unfortunate and shameful. They have strongly demanded the current government urgently improve the quality of healthcare in the haor region.
Dr. Shah Md. Mohibullah, Ashtagram Upazila Health and Family Planning Officer, said, he learned about the incident through Facebook. Passing the blame in a conventional manner, he said that the patient was not brought to the hospital first and that the traditional birth attendants had complicated the situation.
However, admitting the hospital's helplessness at the same time, he added
"Although the hospital has facilities for an OT (Operation Theatre) or Caesarean section, there are no specialists for the two crucial posts—Gynecology and Anesthesia. There is no water ambulance to refer emergency patients. Even the hospital’s sole road ambulance has lacked a government-appointed driver for the past year."
Dr. Md. Nazmul Karim, Civil Surgeon in charge of Kishoreganj, also acknowledged this healthcare crisis. He stated that due to a shortage of specialist doctors, C-section facilities are currently non-functional in all three upazilas of the haor region. Even when doctors are posted, there is a prevailing tendency among them to move to urban areas.
The premature death of this newborn, born behind a plastic sheet in the middle of the haor, is not just a tragedy for a single family; it is a living symbol of the healthcare deprivation and shattered medical system suffered by millions of people in the haor region.
