Sabita Bohora, from Kedarsyun Rural Municipality-1 in Bajhang, was expecting her baby on Magh 24, according to a health check-up at the local clinic. Her family had made preparations based on this date, and her husband, Umesh Bohora, who works in Karnataka, India, was planning to return home in the second week of Magh.
Sabita had already completed her 8th check-up at Bhairabnath Health Post, and health workers had confirmed that everything was normal. However, on the evening of Poush 21, she suddenly began experiencing severe abdominal pain. She did not inform anyone until the pain became unbearable when she told her mother-in-law and sister-in-law about it.
Her husband was in India, and the household had only elderly parents and a young sister-in-law. There was no one to help her. Despite having a neighbor with a motorcycle, an ambulance from the municipality, and a stretcher from a volunteer, Sabita’s family did not seek help from anyone and decided to go to the Royal Primary Health Post on foot.
Around 5:30 am, after walking for about 2 kilometers, Sabita could no longer continue and collapsed by the roadside. At that point, she gave birth to a baby boy. Her sister-in-law rushed to a nearby ward member’s house to ask for help. Ward member Prem Bohora suggested they inform health workers.
By the time they reached Sabita’s location, the baby had stopped breathing, and Sabita had lost a lot of blood. Senior Health Officer Kamal Kumar Malla and nurse Janaki Kumari Bhattarai arrived at 6:30 am with an ambulance, but by the time they reached her, both Sabita and her baby had passed away.
The ward member believes that if they had called for an ambulance earlier, both mother and baby could have survived. The village still maintains an outdated belief of avoiding informing others about a woman’s pain, which contributes to the delay in getting help.
Sabita and Umesh had been married less than a year. Umesh went to India soon after their marriage for work. The tragic death of Sabita and her newborn highlights serious gaps in family awareness and communication, as well as the failure to use available emergency services.
The local ward member stressed that the family should have notified neighbors or health workers earlier, and this unfortunate incident should serve as a wake-up call about the importance of timely medical help.