By Nabin Sishir BK
Baglung, July 13: Mankumari Budha, 50, of Budhathok Tole in Nisikhola Rural Municipality-6 of Baglung, has given birth to four daughters. According to her village convention, she drank a litre of mustard oil and alcohol every time she gave birth.
Mankumari's family urged her to drink oil and alcohol, believing that drinking mustard oil after delivery would make her post-partum body stronger.
The eldest member of the family said that consuming oil and alcohol during maternity was an ancient practice and even though she did not want to consume, she was forced to do so to continue the deep-rooted tradition.
She is currently suffering from gastritis. “I didn't want to consume oil during the post-partum time but I couldn't deny the family's request. Now I am having a stomach problem.”
Bhumisara Budha, 42, of the same place also drank oil and alcohol while giving birth to three children -- two sons and a daughter.
Her mother-in-law had urged her to follow the ritual as per the belief that alcohol would reduce the pain when she was in labour and that oil would keep her body strong and protect her from cold. Until two years ago, it was the custom of the Budhathok Tole to give alcohol and oil to post-partum women. However, the deep-rooted tradition is slowly disappearing.
Traditional practices prevailed when the locals were unaware of the food, beverages and pregnancy tests and unknown about the foods to eat before and after delivery.
Mankumari Budha, who used to consume alcohol and oil during her time forbade those items when her eldest daughter Bhumisara Budha delivered a baby.
She said that she urged her daughter to abandon the old ritual of the village after she knew about the risk of consuming alcohol and oil during birth.
The women health volunteers, social workers of the Rural Health Improvement Project and health workers of the ward spread information that the use of alcohol and oil during pregnancy and maternity is harmful to health.
The Rural Health Improvement Project in Nisikhola Rural Municipality, run with the support of Fairmed Foundation Nepal, has conducted a mother group targeted health education programme in the area.
Gyanu Budha, social director of the Project, said that they have succeeded in reducing the old norms and practices by conducting health education at the mothers' group meeting every month.
Gyanu Budha, a project worker, is a native of Valkot. Kham is the language spoken in Valkot. It is difficult for anyone from outside to have intimate conversations with the locals. So they are conducting every awareness and health education programme in the local Kham language.
Local mothers call Gyanu ‘Masterni’ (teacher).
Rameshwar Shah, a field supervisor of the project, said that the project would collect data of pregnant women in the village, alert them for a pregnancy test at the health institutions as well as encourage them for safe delivery at the health institutions.
Although the practice of consuming oil and alcohol was widespread in the past, the practice and tradition have improved in the last two years, said Jun Gharti Magar, health assistant at Valkot Health Post.
“It's been six years since I started working here. In the early days, the practice was widespread.