Khem Dasi one of the healthcare worker trained by L&M Foundation, knows well the challenges to maternal and child health in her community and local hospitals.
She has been an Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) a trained female community health activist for the government for 7 years.
In this capacity, Khem Dasi is responsible for creating awareness and mobilising high-risk pregnant women to utilise existing health services for 1000 days including services provided by L&M Foundation. She counsels women on birth preparedness, the importance of safe delivery, breast-feeding and complementary feeding, immunization, and prevention of common infections including Reproductive Tract Infection (RTIs) and care of the preterm child. She is also responsible for essential provisions like micronutrients, being made available to all preterm babies and their mothers.
L&M Foundation’s project partners have enlisted her as a frontline healthcare worker for the project. Despite her extensive experience in the field, it was only during the staff training arranged by the L&M Foundation that she first became aware of the importance of 37-week gestation period for a full-term baby. She also learned about complications, causes and consequences of preterm birth for the first time. Since then, she has been collecting information on pregnant women, and has established Mother support groups as L&M Foundation’s initiative helping high-risk pregnant women to empower them to prepare for childbirth and childcare.
At L&M Foundation, we believe in actively engaging local hospitals and healthcare workers to develop awareness on prevention and management of preterm birth. Thus, hospital-based approach forms an essential part of our preterm birth strategy for 1000 days. It is people like Khem Dasi who can help us change the narrative around preterm birth.
Khem Dasi is thrilled to be our ambassador for preterm birth and first 1000 days and wishes to pass on this knowledge to the families she works with.
We are determined to work with her towards our goal of saving lives of preterm children and high-risk pregnant women in difficult to reach areas in developing countries.
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