In the small village of Aruapalli in Odisha, Jhili Rout cradles her newborn with relief and gratitude. As a mother of two, her journey through her recent pregnancy underscores the profound challenges faced by families in rural India, where access to essential healthcare can often seem like a distant dream.

For Jhili (25), whose family of eight struggles with an unstable income, healthcare costs could have been an insurmountable burden. Her husband’s modest earnings as an agricultural labourer often run dry meeting the family’s needs.

Recalling her first experience with antenatal care, she says, “Five years back, when I was pregnant with my first child, I received two ultrasound scans that cost me Rs 1,600. My husband requested sahukar (employer) to lend him this amount. For families like us, sparing so much amount is not easy,” she adds.

However, Jhili was able to monitor her second pregnancy closely without the financial strain. Thanks to the Ganjam District Administration’s initiative, she was offered up to three ultrasound scans for free of cost.

“When ASHA [Accredited Social Health Activist] didi told me that it is for free, I did not believe her at first. But when I went to the centre, no money was taken from me. It came as a relief. I underwent three scans in my third, seventh, and ninth months of pregnancy. I was very worried about my child but the doctor told me everything was fine; my baby was healthy and it was positioned normally,” adds Jhili.

“The only thing that I needed to ensure was that I keep on taking iron-rich food, such as jaggery and green leafy vegetables, and iron tablets. My haemoglobin was 10 [normal range is 12.0-15.5 g/dL]. I followed all the instructions and my baby was born a month back. Both of us........

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