Family members of a 21-year-old woman in Chennai have alleged medical negligence on the part of the Government Medical Hospital in the city after the newborn died after a Caesarean procedure on Monday, January 22. The baby’s father Imran also alleged that F7 Maternity Hospital Police Station did not file the complaint when he approached them and allegedly made inappropriate and insensitive remarks.
Imran and Abitha, a young couple and the residents of the Puliyanthope, were expecting their first child. Abitha had her regular checkups at the G3 Government Hospital in Puliyanthope. However, G3 Hospital referred Abitha to the Egmore Hospital as her due date was getting closer.
Abitha was admitted to the Egmore Hospital on January 20 and she began experiencing contractions on January 22 early morning. "Abitha was experiencing contractions for three hours. Around 5.30 am, I was told that Abitha needed a C-section procedure as the baby's heartbeat was getting low," Imran detailed. According to him, the baby was born around 6.30 am and the staff members brought the baby to him and told him that her heartbeat was still low. However, Imran said that the baby was already dead when he saw her. "She was not moving. She was dead when they brought her to me. After two hours, they announced that she was no more," he said.
Speaking to TNM, Kalaivani, the director of the Government Hospital for Women and Children in Egmore ruled out medical negligence as a cause of the baby’s death and that it was an ongoing investigation. “Another medical officer will conduct the inquiry. We can establish the cause of death based on those reports,” Kalaivani added.
Imran alleged that when he approached the F7 maternity hospital police station, the police allegedly asked him why he admitted his wife to a government hospital if he cared about her. Instead of registering his complaint against the hospital, the police told him to approach the court. F7 police personnel were not available for comment when TNM tried to reach them. V Ragupathy, Egmore Assistant Commissioner of Police, told TNM that he would take appropriate actions if the allegations were true.