Bhopal: When most girls aspire to study, their counterparts in Latteri, Patera and many other villages in Madhya Pradesh are facing frequent miscarriages and living in fear of what would happen if they fail to give a heir to their families. It is a compulsion for them to become mothers.
Muskaan, a resident of Latteri got married at the age of 15 and has suffered five miscarriages till now. She first became pregnant when she was 16 years old but had a miscarriage. In the panic that her husband would leave her, she is getting pregnant almost every year but is unable to carry the child for more than two months.
Muskaan said that her elder sister's marriage was broken as she failed to give a heir to the family. "I got married at an early age and since then have been attempting to become pregnant. I have already failed five times. I don't know what will happen if I fail again," she said.
Doctors have advised Muskaan against frequent pregnancies. They have told her that a gap of at least one and a half years is important after a miscarriage but Muskaan has not heeded to any advise.
"I am the elder daughter-in-law of the family and it is extremely important for me to get an heir. Reena became a mother within two years of her marriage. But, the child survived for only eight days. Since then, the biggest question in Reena's life is what would happen if she fails to become a mother," Muskaan said. Reena said that the child could have survived but she lost him due to the careless attitude of the government hospital.
Rani of Patera village near Sinroj said that there was no doctor in the government hospital when she went there for delivery. The nurse had asked for to go for surgery while her family wanted normal delivery, she said. The child's condition deteriorated after delivery and though he was taken to Bhopal for treatment, he could not survive, she said. "For the last two years, I have been waiting eagerly for the day when I would become a mother. I am the elder daughter-in-law. How will my family be taken ahead if I do not give the heir? My husband too will remarry if I fail to give him a child," she added.
Savitri even opted for exorcism to get a child. She did not go for a check-up for the first seven months of her pregnancy as the 'tantrik' had said that if she went to the hospital she would have miscarriage. Finally, after her condition deteriorated she visited the hospital.
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A woman was forced to leave her house after she failed to become a mother after nine years of her marriage. Bharti of Lateri village not only endured her in-laws' criticisms but was beaten up by her husband. She said that she had to undergo animal-like torture at her in-laws house.
"My husband threatened me that he would remarry if I did not give him a child. I am suffering from PCOD (Polycystic Ovarian Disease) and my mother is bearing my treatment cost by working in a school. I am now undertaking nursing training and will soon divorce my husband. I have decided not to remarry. I won't die if I don't become a mother," she said.
