Andhra newborn dies after smoke emanates from incubator, hospital calls it coincidence

Within hours of giving birth, Mubeena Begum lost her child at the Hindupur Government Hospital in Anantapur district’s Hindupur on Saturday. The baby boy, who had been kept in an incubator, died following a malfunction in a compressor, which led to smoke coming out of the device. While the baby’s relatives are blaming the hospital for their loss, authorities have denied the claims, stating that the newborn’s health was already in a bad state, calling the incident an ‘unfortunate coincidence’. 

According to the Superintendent of the Hospital Keshavulu, Mubeena gave birth to the baby on Saturday evening around 5 30 PM. “The baby was brought to me in a gasping state. It was almost terminal breathing. We then placed the child under non-invasive ventilation in the MCH (Mother and Child Health) ward,” Keshavulu said. 

The ventilatory support involved blending air from a compressor, and oxygen through a mask. Around 9pm, flames and smoke began to come out of the compressor due to a condenser leak inside the device, Keshavulu said. “With that, the child’s relatives panicked. After that, the baby was taken away and put on another machine in a different room,” he added. 

The child died about an hour after the incident. “I had told the family beforehand that the baby will not survive at any cost. But they are thinking that without this incident, the child would’ve survived,” said the Superintendent. 

Television visuals from the spot show a relative is seen questioning hospital staff as Mubeena weeps for her child. 

Police and hospital authorities claim that no other patients were affected by the incident. District Coordinator of Hospital Services N Ramesh Nath also dismissed reports which held the hospital responsible. Police have not registered any case regarding the incident. 

Earlier on October 21, in another incident in Hyderabad, a fire broke out in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of Shine Children's Hospital in LB Nagar, killing a four-month-old baby. The hospital’s Managing Director and four others have since been arrested.