Rokhsana never thought she would survive. She was hanging in balance between life and death with the severity of her pregnancy related complications. This was her fifth pregnancy. She previously had four home deliveries out of which two were still births. It went to such a stage that her mother desperately looked for a reliable and affordable clinic. A typical poor housewife, Ms. Rokhsana Akhter (27), wife of a farmer Mr. Abdur Rahim, was admitted at Patiya Rural Smiling Sun Clinic in Chittagong on September 4, 2009 at 8 PM with leaking membrane which happened 24 hours before admission. After being stabilized, Rokhsana underwent a caesarean section immediately and a baby girl weighing 4.5 Kg was delivered.

Her mother brought Rokhsana to the Smiling Sun clinic in Patiya, although her husband and in-laws could not sense the ominous sign of danger. “She had two still births previously only because she was not brought to the hospital for delivery despite having prolonged labor,” said Dr. Kamal Hossain, medical officer of the clinic run by FDSR.

The newborn baby initially had complications with a bacteriological infection in blood cells which was medically diagnosed as Early Onset of Neonatal Septicemia (EONS). The doctors initially referred the baby to Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH) for proper treatment but CMCH was too expensive for the family. The baby was finally treated and cured by the Medical Officer of Patia Rural Smiling Sun Clinic. Both Rokhsana and her baby girl are now healthy.

Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey-2007 shows that in rural areas, only 15% of pregnant women receive antenatal care (ANC) from skilled providers, qualified doctors, nurses or paramedics. The cesarean section rate in the poorest quintiles of Bangladesh is unacceptably low (below 2%). SSFP networks have been providing medical services to mothers and newborns of which about 25% are from poor segments of society. In the past two years, nearly 28,000 safe deliveries have been performed across the Smiling Sun network. It reflects SSFP and USIAD’s commitment to provide health services to the poor in a sustainable manner.