Meera Devi

a Parivartan self-help group member

efore joining a PCI Parivartan self-help group

two years ago, Meera Devi felt unable to
participate in discussions or decisions about
pregnancy and childcare because she knew nothing about
these things. Lacking any better source of information,
she deferred to local traditions and to the wishes of her
husband and elders. Like many women who belong to
marginalized communities in rural Bihar, 24-year-old
Meera Devi never attended school and was married at the
age of 15. Her first child-delivered at home when Meera
Devi was 17- survived for only four hours. She now has a
three-year-old daughter, Sapna Kumari, and is eightmonths pregnant.

After seeing the DARSHAN videos, Meera now suspects

that her parenting decisions are why Sapna Kumari has
often been ill. Because of what she has learned through the
DARSHAN videos, Meera Devi has decided to prepare for
and care for her next child very differently. She has gained
knowledge about birth preparedness, childcare, and
sanitation that enables her to make informed decisionseven if her decisions conflict with traditions that her family
has always followed.

Among the changes that she has made, Meera Devi has
been resting and eating more fruits and vegetables during
The loss of Meera Devis first child was a painful and tragic this pregnancy. For her delivery, she has prepared a bag
lesson about the risks of home delivery. Consequently, the containing a bar of soap, a clean blade, a clean string, and a
clean cloth, which the DARSHAN video on birth
family decided that Sapna Kumari should be born in a
preparedness taught her to do. She has written the numbers
hospital. But other customs and beliefs, particularly the
of her accredited social health activist (ASHA) and the
tradition called Chatti, shaped Sapna Kumaris infancy in
dangerous ways. Sapna Kumari was welcomed to this world local ambulance on the wall of her home so that these
important numbers cant be lost. She particularly
with a spoonful of honey-because her grandmother
believed that honey would sweeten Sapnas speech-and oil appreciates this precaution, which she vividly remembers
was immediately applied on her umbilical wound. When she being demonstrated in the DARSHAN video on
was brought home six hours after birth, Sapna Kumari was institutional delivery.
bathed, but as part of the tradition of Chatti, Meera Devi
was made to avoid bathing for six days while she and her
baby slept and ate separately from the rest of the family.
Delivery is locally considered to be a polluting experience,
so mother and newborn are treated as being achhut, or
untouchable, during this time.
In keeping with the local belief that colostrum makes
newborns weak, Meera Devi discarded her colostrum and
fed Sapna Kumari goats milk for her first six days. Meera
Devi began complementary feeding after Sapna Kumari
turned one year old because Meera thought that solid food
harms younger children. Sapna Kumari was not fully
immunized because some of the shots gave her a fever that
alarmed Meera Devi, discouraging her from taking Sapna
for the remaining shots.

A seheli demonstrates writing important phone numbers on

the wall in the DARSHAN video about institutional delivery.

Meera Devi
a Parivartan self-help group member

She is also taking iron and folic acid (IFA) tablets. Although
she was given IFA tablets at the anganwadi center when she
was pregnant with Sapna Kumari, Meera Devi did not take
the tablets because the anganwadi worker didnt explain
how the tablets would help Meera Devi. From the video, I
learned that the tablets strengthen me and build blood,
Meera Devi said, explaining why she decided to take them
this time.

it is six days old, and exclusively breastfeed for six

months. She has decided to make all of these changes
because of what she learned from other women who
shared their experiences and knowledge through the
DARSHAN videos.

The DARSHAN video about safe handling and storage

of water was one of her favorite videos because it clearly
demonstrated the incorrect and correct practices and
explained how these practices affect health. When
After seeing the video on immunization and learning the
importance of the injections, Meera Devi took Sapna Kumari carrying her drinking water from the handpump, Meera
for the shots that she missed earlier. Meera Devi also decided Devi now is careful to avoid putting her fingers into the
water so that it doesnt become dirty, as she was shown in
that she will fully immunize her next child on schedule
because she now understands that the shots side effects are the DARSHAN video. Well reduce our expenses on
medicine by adopting these practices that protect our
less harmful than the illnesses that the shots prevent.
health, Meera Devi said. Ive learned to be clean. By
being neat and clean, well have less illness.
When her baby arrives, Meera Devi plans to breastfeed
within half an hour, give the newborn its first bath when

Hygienic handling of water demonstrated in the DARSHAN video on safe storage of water

Nirmal House ,2nd & 3rd floor

Nalanda Colony , Side of lane Brahma Vidyalaya
P.O. Patna-800 010,Bihar, Phone: 0612-2270211