SERVICE AS MIDWIFE FOR 50 YEARS PLUS; HEARING THE NEWBORN’S CRY 1000 PLUS TIMES
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| Ummachutti, Kondotti, Malappuram. |
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Ummachutti’s service as a midwife stretches beyond 5 decades of labour in the still unmotorable and unlit areas of Ekkaparambu, Cholakkal, Kunnakkad and Kumbalaparambu areas near Kondotti, Malappuram.
And
an estimated 1000 plus babies have been born into her hands.
Since
the age of 13, she has been serving as a full-fledged midwife.
Earlier than that she used to assist her mother, who too was a
midwife.
She
always has a light sleep. Every other night, someone or other would come seeking her
urgent help. As soon as she
get the distress message, she would get up, wash her hand and feet,
remember God and set out on her mission.
Earlier one had to walk for hours together to reach the house of
the enceinte, though things have now improved.
There
is a rhythm for childbirth. It is when this rhythm is broken that complications set in.
She can, by the mere look at the face of a would-be-mother, tell
whether she has high BP.
Gathering
the newborn babe into the hands is a unique experience for this mother of
6 children. It is as if a
jelly like lump is suddenly hardening.
One cannot describe that feeling in words, she says.
Once
the baby starts crying, she whispers the ‘Muezzin’s Call’ into its
ears. Only then will she open
the door and bring it out.
From
Pallimukku to Kondotty, she gets everything gratis.
Whether it is services like bus or autorickshaw or items from the
shop. After all we have been
born into those hands, the people say.
It
is little wonder there is a jocular saying in the area: seeing Ummachutti,
even a non-pregnant woman would feel like giving birth.
Courtesy: V.R.Jyothish, Vanitha, July 15-31, 2002
Contributed by: Administrator
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