5 of my children suffering from malnutrition: Bakht Bibi

GHAZNI CITY (Pajhwok): Bakht Bibi, a resident of southern Ghazni province, who has given birth to 12 children, says her elder son and daughter were killed in an airstrike two years ago while five of her children now suffering from malnutrition.

Bibi, a resident of Deh Yak district of Ghazni, who recently gave birth to twin babies, is hospitalized in Ghazni Civil Hospital where doctors say that the woman is also suffering from malnutrition.

She said that she lost two of her children in an airstrike two years ago.

Married around 11 years ago, Bibi said that she gave birth to twins twice and her husband is careless about family planning.

“I gave birth to two babies five months ago, now both of them are suffering from malnutrition, now I am pregnant of three months, doctors tell me that I am also affected by malnutrition,” she said.

Bibi said that she had told her husband several times that she wanted gap in child births, but they did not know how to do family planning.

She said she was now tired caring for all her children, adding that five of her children were malnourished and the rest others also often fell sick.

“We want gap in my pregnancy, but we do not know how. We have no information on this regard. No one has given us any information. The doctors have given us some information, but it is too late now because I am three months pregnant,” she added.

Bibi Ayesha, the doctor of Bakht Bibi, says that not only BakhtBibi’s children are malnourished, but the woman herself also suffered from the disease.

Frequent pregnancies have led to health problems for Bibiand, it even can cause death of the woman and her children if she does not control her pregnancies, the doctor said.

“The health condition of the woman and her children would get improved over time, but if she continues becoming pregnant, it would led to the death of the woman and her children,” she said.

Ayesha said that she had given information about the gap in pregnancies to the woman.

Dr. Baz Mohammad Himmat, head of Ghazni Civil Hospital, said that malnutrition cases have increased in Ghazni this year and last year mainly due to poverty and frequent child births.

“Since the beginning of last year, we registered 1,500 cases of malnutrition, which shows a high increase compared to the previous years,” he said.

He said that lack of public awareness, economic problems of people, lack of access to health facilities are the reasons that increase the cases of malnutrition.

Malnutrition cases have increased countrywide in Afghanistan.

mds/ma

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