Prasansha Budha Lama was one of the first cohorts of midwifery students in Nepal. Now, she has qualified as one of Nepal’s first-ever profession midwives. Her deeply emotive investment in the skill and expertise of midwifery is inspired by the tragic story of losing her mother during her brother’s birth. One of the first to be qualified as a midwife in Nepal just 10 months ago, she aims to brings her experience and skills back to her rural hometown in Nepal, a country that is said to be “devoid of compassionate care.” Her profound dedication aims to increase awareness of the benefits of midwifery around the world, she says, and keep more women and babies alive by teaching essential obstetric emergency skills.
“Prasansha is a credit to midwifery and to Nepal. She will go a very long way in Nepal, for the benefit of untold numbers of mothers and infants.”
When Lama saw that maternity services were closed due to the impact of the pandemic, she also saw a rise in fear and anxiety among all the pregnant woman, postnatal mothers and those women with unintended pregnancies, and she rose to the occasion—at first by reaching out to women personally via telephone along with 2 other midwives. Eventually, she gained support from programmes who recognized the grave need for maternity care. In one story (out of 550 clients She counseled to date during the pandemic) a 49-year-old couple called her in desperation. They had an unintended pregnancy, asthma, and had little money to afford transportation, service and care. Lama coordinated volunteers, funders and government hospitals to ensure the woman received the care she desperately needed. Lama has counselled and supported countless women during this pandemic. That’s exactly why she is nominated as one of our 100+ women nurses and midwives.