Rural healthcare workers in India are fighting to overcome stigma and systemic shortcomings to help patients.

BY SANKET JAIN
AUG 28, 2023

When Kiran Kumbhar (name changed for safety reasons) was pregnant with her first child, she experienced severe complications that almost took her life. And the debilitating symptoms have continued in the years since: weakness and dizziness, weight gain, and delays of as long as six months between periods. For years she tried to ignore the health ailments, but things got so bad that she eventually sought medical care. She was diagnosed with hypothyroidism, which limits the secretion of necessary hormones that control how a body uses energy, and polycystic ovarian disease (PCOD), in which enlarged ovaries secrete hormones that cause health issues.

Then, 15 years after giving birth to her son, she found herself pregnant again. She faced insults and name-calling daily because of her age and the long gap since her first baby. Both are considered shameful by those who carry conservative beliefs in India.

Continued: https://www.yesmagazine.org/health-happiness/2023/08/28/india-legal-abortion-access