Prenatal care for Lalita

Lalita is a young mother of two, soon to be three! Her marriage to her husband was arranged when she was only a teenager, as is common in her community, and by age 20, she already had two children, a 2 year old boy and a 3-year old girl.

Lalita lives in Pune, India with her husband and his family: her mother-in-law, father-in-law and several of her husband’s siblings. The family largely makes a living through roadside metalworking, but Lalita’s husband is one of the few in her community with a salaried job ­- he earns 3,000 rupees ($60) a month as a caddy at the golf course down the road from their slum community. Lalita is grateful that her husband has a real job, but his earnings fluctuate greatly depending on the season and weather ­- it is hard for the family to be able to put much away for savings with so many mouths to feed.

For this reason, Lalita and her husband were happy that they were able to sign up for free, comprehensive antenatal care through Ashraya Institute for Children (AIC) at a health and community center near their slum. Through this program, Lalita is able to come for regular check-ups, receives medication and nutritional support, and is accompanied by AIC health workers to appointments throughout her pregnancy.  This has taken a huge burden off Lalita and her family, and she is looking forward to her new arrival. She has even been attending parenting classes for the past year and is excited to have the opportunity to put her new skills to use from the get-go with the arrival of her new baby.

Thank you Dara, Jeff, Madhu, Grace, and Krishna for ensuring Lalita and her soon-to-be-born child are healthy.