'Untouchable' after delivery, Tumakuru mom loses baby

TUMAKURU: Thirty-one days after a Tumakuru couple lost one of their their preterm twins at birth, the other twin, too, died to what appears to be a mix of negligence and superstition.
Siddesh and Vasantha of Mallenahalli Gollarahatti, around 17km from Tumakuru town, were expecting twins.
On June 22, Vasantha who was in her eighth month delivered twins- a boy and a girl.Both babies were underweight. The boy died at birth, while the girl, weighing only 1.1kg, was kept in the neonatal intensive care unit. Her condition was improving when the couple decided to return home much against medical advice. On returning home, they indulged in an old but prevalent ritual of leaving mother and newborn in a temporary hut outside the village. This is a superstition that extends to all families of the Kadugolla community in the village.
Tumakuru district hospital surgeon Dr Veena H told TOI: "Our paediatrician advised them to keep the baby in NICU for another month. But they left the hospital against medical advice."
Vasantha was left in the hut made of coconut fronds with nobody to care for her or the baby. With rain lashing the region and the weather getting chilly, the baby developed breathing issues. On July 20, they rushed the baby to the Tumakuru district government hospital.
"The baby was brought in a semi-conscious state and was in shock. Despite our best efforts, the baby failed to respond to treatment and died on July 23 at the hospital," Veena said.
Why the practice?
According to villagers, new mothers and their babies are shifted to the huts as they believe it is impure to keep them at home for a certain period after devliery.
They, in fact, observe 'suthaka' (period of abstention to ward off impurity) during this time as they believe not doing so would attract the wrath of their 'kuladevru' (ancestral deity). Menstruating and pregnant women in their last term are isolated similarly.
Officials meet elders
On Wednesday, Tumakuru taluk tahsildar Siddesh M visited the village and appealed to the elders of the Kagugolla community to keep the new mothers and babies at home.