“This birthing center has given me so much. The center only recently started offering birthing services, so I was lucky to be able to receive care in my own village. We were actually planning to go to Biratnagar – one of the biggest cities in Nepal, and very far away – to deliver because the doctor told us the baby was breech after an ultrasound. So my husband and I started making plans to go a week before the due date. But the bus did not show up for two days because of bad road conditions, and the next day, labor pains started.

We immediately headed straight to Rajapani birthing center with my husband. The SBAs helped me through six hours of labor to deliver my little angel. But just a couple moments after my daughter was born, I became nervous because she didn’t cry.

The SBA told me it could be something serious called birth asphyxia. I still remember our SBA doing her best, working through the cold night. After countless efforts with a bag and mask, my daughter finally cried. I felt lucky and well-supported in many ways. Because of these life-saving services I am able to see my daughter growing and making my entire family happy.”

~ Binuta Shrestha, Rajapani, Khotang District , 2016