Sanju pays the price for availing maternity leavea

Berhampur : A hard-won right got diluted as Sanju Behera, working as the Medical Record Assistant (MRA) in Community Health Centre (CHC) at Mohana in Gajapati district, was denied paid maternity leave and ousted from her job. The authorities did not even allow her to rejoin her duty and allotted the job to another woman instead.

It was a bolt out of the blue for Sanju, who was upset at losing out on the hard-won right of paid maternity leave. Her hopes fizzled out after the authorities appointed another woman to the same post without prior notice to her.

Sanju was appointed as the MRA on an outsourcing basis on July 25 last year. She went on maternity leave for six months from October 1, 2023 and delivered her baby on October 30.

“What then should a new mother do? Should I give up on my struggle for livelihood, dreams and ambition for the sake of my child? The authorities must immediately sanction my paid maternity leave and allow me to rejoin duty,” said Sanju with her baby on her lap.

Sanju submitted her grievance to Gajapati Collector Smruti Ranjan Pradhan, who visited the Mohana CHC and assured her to give justice and take the errant officials to task.

Sanju alleged that another woman from Narayan Nagar in Mohana was appointed as MRA illegally. “They also asked me to pay Rs 50,000 to sanction my salary which is pending,” said Sanju.

Medical experts recommend babies to be exclusively breastfed for the first six months.

But, even after six months, it is recommended to breastfeed the baby for at least 18 months along with a gradual introduction of solid food in diet.

A nursing mother also needs to take care of her nutrition just as much as a pregnant woman does. More often than not, nursing mothers do not have uninterrupted sleep at night.