“It takes a whole
village to raise a child”
My peace of mind has
been disturbed for the past few days by the news, “Mother detained for abandoning
new born” given in BBS and Kuensel, 8/8/2014 and 13/8/2014
subsequently. I am sure everybody must have just asked the question “how could
she do that?” and with the time this too shall pass. I am sure this is not the first case and it is
certainly not going to be the last either. If I am not mistaken I remember some
papers run down the similar story that happen in Samtse, perhaps around this
time last year but I don’t have the document support my claim. It becomes more disturbing
to hear that mothers instead of getting the postnatal care, she is being
arrested………….
As a mother, nurse and
as a responsible concerned fellow citizen, I can imagine the situation and
circumstances that the lady must have undergone. Even with lots of support from
husband and family members, going through pregnancy and giving birth is not at
all easy. It is not the incapacity of the mother that has forced to walk away
from the baby but the circumstances and the social stigma attached to giving
birth to an illegitimate baby. If for a normal wanted pregnancy, this mother
would have got the entire medical care and lots pampering from the family members.
It is not the mother
who is ignorant but the society has pretended to remain deaf and dumb. We know
that it takes nine months to give birth to a fully grown baby. I just can’t
imagine why the neighbors and relatives ignored the physiological changes that
must have indicated that she is expecting. What happened to the father of that
baby? How can he be ignored? I hope someday we will know what happened to him
too. We cannot afford to let her face the consequences alone. Perpetrators
should be punished too. Though, in this story that baby has become the gift of
God to someone and as well as lucky for the baby, I only wish that mother also
receives the due care like any other nursing mothers.
