A woman from ward 8 of Badigad Rural Municipality suffered excessive bleeding after giving birth at home last year. She lost consciousness due to postpartum hemorrhage, prompting her family to carry her on foot for eight hours to the then Burtibang Primary Health Center (now Burtibang Hospital).

Unfortunately, due to the superstitious belief that a newborn should not be breastfed before the placenta is expelled, she also lost her child. Her condition worsened as the placenta failed to detach and the difficult journey to the health institution made her health even more critical. With the help of neighbours, who carried her on a stretcher, she arrived at Burtibang after eight hours, drenched in blood and unconscious. Upon receiving an emergency call, nurse Parbati Aryal rushed to the health institution and implemented the ‘condom tamponade’ procedure, also known as uterine balloon tamponade, to save the woman’s life.

Aryal, an experienced nurse at Burtibang Hospital, used the method to control the hemorrhage. She inserted a condom filled with 400 milliliters of saline into the uterus, applying pressure to stop the bleeding. Within four hours, the woman regained consciousness. After two days of further treatment, she was stable enough to return home.

“Condom Tamponade is a lifesaving technique to control postpartum hemorrhage,” said Aryal. “It helps stabilise the mother before referring her to a more advanced facility if needed.”

Aryal, a 50-year-old staff nurse, has been serving in the healthcare sector for nearly 20 years, including 12 years at the erstwhile Burtibang Primary Health Center. She has also worked in remote areas like Bungadobhan of Tamankhola Rural Municipality. Over the years, Aryal has successfully saved 42 mothers using the ‘condom tamponade’ method alone, aside from her routine medical duties.

“Hundreds of lives have been saved through regular treatments, but the ‘condom tamponade’ method alone has helped me save 42 mothers,” claims Aryal. Medical professionals recognise the procedure as an effective intervention. Dr Amit Dhungana, medical superintendent and anesthesiologist at Dhaulagiri Hospital, said that the ‘condom tamponade’ procedure has been approved by medical science. “It immediately stops the bleeding, allowing time for further medical intervention,” said Dhungana. However, he emphasised that only trained and experienced nurses should perform the procedure.

Senior gynaecologist Dr Bijay Ojha also acknowledges that this method is a crucial solution for saving lives in rural areas. “Most cases can be managed with the condom tamponade technique, although some may still require surgical intervention at well-equipped hospitals,” he said. To improve maternal healthcare, rural nurses and auxiliary nurse midwives are being trained in this method.

Aryal has already trained 60 healthcare workers in this technique, and some auxiliary nurse midwives have begun implementing it in remote areas.

Ganesh Baruwal, programme manager of the Rural Health Improvement Project, stressed the importance of integrating this technique into maternal and neonatal training programmes. “Since home deliveries are still prevalent in rural Nepal, auxiliary nurse midwives need to be proficient in this technique to stabilise patients before transferring them to advanced facilities,” he said.

Beyond maternity care, Aryal plays a vital role in surgery, pediatrics, infection control, training programmes, and logistics management at Burtibang Hospital. Since being upgraded to a hospital last month, the health facility has expanded services to include dental care, eye treatment, video X-ray, and tuberculosis GeneXpert testing. Dr Navindra Dhakal, chief of the hospital, says Aryal’s expertise and contributions to maternal health has strengthened public trust in the hospital.

Burtibang lies in the centre of Dhorpatan Municipality in Baglung, a hill district of Gandaki Province. The municipality officials also laud Aryal for her deft health services mainly to save lives of pregnant and postpartum women.

Dhan Bahadur Kayat, acting chief of the municipality, said that Aryal’s presence has significantly improved women’s healthcare in the region. “Every year, we have to conduct five to seven emergency airlifts for critical maternity cases,” he said. “Without skilled nurses like her, more patients would have to be transported at high costs.”

Burtibang Hospital still lacks sufficient healthcare professionals to provide quality health services to the patients. Dhakal said at least five additional nurses and three doctors are urgently needed to meet the increasing flow of patients in the hospital.