Birth houses

6 Sets of Twins

Twin births are always something special. For midwives, this means providing close prenatal care to identify any complications early on and support the women through a safe delivery. It came as a shock to 35-year-old Dudsila when the midwife at our birthing center in Seri told her she was expecting twins. “I panicked! I’d already had to give birth to five children in a cow barn. I couldn’t imagine how I was supposed to survive a twin birth. But the midwives supported me wonderfully—from the regular checkups right through to the birth, I felt safe and secure. I’m infinitely grateful that I didn’t have to go through this alone.”

1 TARA & SITARA (“STAR AND MORNING STAR”)

* JUNE 30, 2017, AT THE GAMTHA BIRTH CENTER | Her parents make their living from farming; they have three other daughters and two sons. Chaiti Rawal does not want any more children.

2 BIPANA & BISWAS (“REALITY AND TRUST”)

* OCTOBER 8, 2017, AT THE SERI BIRTH CENTER | In October 2019, little Biswas became seriously ill and died shortly after his second birthday. His parents are farmers. Before the twins, Lal Jira had already given birth to two children—a boy and a girl—in the cow barn.

3 JIWAN & JITENDRA (“LIFE AND KING OF VICTORY”)

* JANUARY 13, 2018, AT THE SERI MATERNITY HOSPITAL | The two healthy boys weighed 2,100 and 2,300 grams. The family is now raising seven children in total. The poor Dalits make their living from farming. Dudsila and her husband have received education about contraception.

4 SHISHIR & SANGIT (“WINTER AND MUSIC”)

* AUGUST 23, 2018, AT THE SERI BIRTH CENTER | The two healthy boys weighed about 2,000 grams at birth and were thriving. Their parents are mountain farmers and have their hands full with their lively toddlers.

5 BIKRAM & BISHAL (“BRAVERY AND LORD OF GODS”)

* MARCH 12, 2020, AT THE GAMGADHI HOSPITAL | A week before the birth, our midwife, Nirmala, detected complications and sent the expectant mother to the only hospital in the mountainous region, a 14-hour walk away. There, a C-section could be performed if necessary. That was the right decision, as the birth was fraught with complications. Sharmila and the infants (one weighed 2,500 grams, the other 1,600 grams) remained in the hospital for two more days; postnatal care was then resumed at the birthing center in Gamtha. 27

6 AAKASH & AASHISH (“SKY AND BLESSING”)