An Exclusive Achievement of Kathija Bibi, The Nurse: 10,000 Safe Deliveries of Pregnant Women, Not a Single Death |

Khatija Bibi: A Role Model for the Women's Healthcare

Khatija Bibi is a retired nurse who worked for 33 years at a government health center in Tamil Nadu, India. She received a government award for delivering more than 10,000 babies without any deaths. She witnessed many changes in women's healthcare and attitudes in her rural town.

From Pregnant Nurse to Award-Winning Midwife:

Khatija started working as a nurse in 1990 when she was pregnant by seven months. She resumed work only after two months of maternity leave and continued to help other women during their labor. She says her own experience of motherhood helped her guide pregnant moms through childbirth.

Saving Lives with Limited Resources:

Khatija's clinic was not equipped to do Caesarean sections, so she had to send women with complications to the district hospital. She says she is proud that none of the babies she delivered died on her watch. She credits her calm composure and quick decision-making skills for her success.

Following Her Mother's Footsteps:

Khatija was inspired by her mother, Zulaika. Her mother was a village nurse. She grew up playing with syringes and smelling hospital disinfectants. Before being a midwife, she had seen many failed cases of pregnancy. So she released the importance of providing adequate healthcare to poor and semi-literate rural women who relied on the state maternity home.

She Witnessing Positive Changes in Women's Healthcare Ratio Over The Time:

In her career, Khatija saw India improve its maternal mortality rate from high to near the global average. She also saw positive changes in people's attitudes towards girls being born and having fewer children. She says she is happy that women are now more aware of their health and rights.

Khatija Looks Back with Pride and Joy:

Khatija retired in June 2023 at the age of 60. She says she will miss her work and her colleagues, but she hopes the memories of her work will keep her happy in retirement. She hopes to inspire other nurses to pursue their dreams and serve their communities.

Khatija said:

"You know even women who go through a painful labour, they forget everything and start smiling when they hear their babies cry. Watching that relief was such an exhilarating experience for me. It was a soulful journey for me all these years."

"I have seen bad times and good times. Some husbands would not even visit their wives if she bore a girl child. Some women would weep uncontrollably if she de livered a second or third girl. But now, the scenario has changed," says Khatija. "Many couples only opt for two children, irrespective of gender."

Conclusion:

The healthcare challenges of them faced by women.

• Unequal power relationships between men and women, which can affect their access to health services, information, and resources.
• Social norms that decrease education and paid employment opportunities for women, which can limit their ability to make informed choices about their health.
• An exclusive focus on women’s reproductive roles, which can neglect other aspects of their health and wellbeing, such as mental health, chronic diseases, and aging.
• Potential or actual experience of physical, sexual, and emotional violence, which can have serious consequences for women’s health, such as injuries, infections, unwanted pregnancies, and mental trauma.
• Historic “siloing” of reproductive health and maternal health from other key clinical and nonclinical services that are critical to women’s whole health.
• Insufficient attention across medical specialties given to sex differences in disease progression and treatment, which can lead to misdiagnosis, undertreatment, or overtreatment of women.
• Empowerment within the healthcare system, which refers to the ability of women to participate in decision making, access resources, and exercise agency over their health. Women often face barriers to empowerment due to lack of representation, discrimination, harassment, and bullying in the healthcare workforce.
• Access to care, which is influenced by factors such as availability, affordability, acceptability, and quality of health services. Women may face challenges in accessing care due to geographic distance, financial constraints, cultural norms, stigma, or lack of trust in the healthcare system⁴⁵.
• These are some of the major challenges that women face in healthcare. However, there are also many efforts and initiatives to address these challenges and improve women’s health outcomes. For example, the World Health Organization (WHO) has a global strategy for women’s health that aims to ensure that every woman and girl can realize her right to the highest attainable standard of health. The WHO also works with partners to promote gender equality and combat genderbased violence in healthcare settings. Additionally, there are many organizations and movements that advocate for women’s health rights and empowerment, such as Women Deliver, Planned Parenthood, UN Women, and #MeToo.

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