A severely anaemic pregnant woman, with seven children and two abortions, was forcibly moved out of the remote village of Kadamakuttai hill hamlet of Bettamugilalam panchayat to hospital after her haemoglobin count was down to 3 grams per decilitre (g/dL). Though she lost the child, doctors were able to save Malli.Malli and her family had been consistently evading the monthly camps held on Fridays in the remote unmotorable village of Kadamakuttai.C. Rajesh Kumar, Block Medical Officer, Denkanikottai, said that he got to know about the woman in May when he went for the camp. Since he developed good rapport with the elderly women in the hamlet, one of them told him that Malliâs family âvanishedâ every time when the medical camp was conducted.âHence, on July 18, we carried out a surprise visit to Malliâs house. The family members abused us and refused any medical help,â Dr. Rajesh Kumar said. Later, Malli, who was in her eighth month of pregnancy, was wheeled to the camp, where her haemoglobin count was found to be mere 3 g/dL. Her face was swollen, signalling facial edema. With pregnancy induced hypertension and low blood level, Dr. Rajesh Kumar felt that she would barely survive another 20 days if not shifted to the hospital. As the family refused to understand the situation, he informed Collector C.Dinesh Kumar and Deputy Director of Health Dr. Ramesh Kumar.âThe tahsildar came on line and asked for the force that was needed from the revenue and police to shift the woman.âBut when the team went back on Saturday, the family went into hiding. Malliâs eldest daughter herself was a mother of three. The medical team searched across the area and found Malli and her husband. âHer fear was that if she went to the hospital, who would take care of her children.After much persuasion, Malli was taken to the Dharmapuri government medical college hospital by a jeep. The medical staff were instructed to take good care of her, put an ASHA worker and a VHN round the clock to monitor Malli. The BMO had also gave some cash to the family as an assurance. In the meantime, the eldest daughterâs son went into fits, and had to be moved into the paediatric ward.On Monday evening, Malliâs foetus had an intrauterine death, as anticipated. If she had remained home, she would not have survived, said Dr. Rajesh Kumar. For now, the Health Department is considering contraceptive devices for Malli, who has undergone blood transfusions since Saturday.Published - July 21, 2025 11:17 pm IST