Andhra Pradesh: Private hospital treats woman for false pregnancy, probe on

Kakinada: A Kakinada-based private hospital, Ramya Hospital, is reported to have treated a woman for eight months for her pregnancy, which was later revealed to be non-existent.

The woman has been identified as 26-year-old Vaddi Mahalakshmi and her husband, Satyanarayana who lives in Yanam. The patient's relatives alleged that the hospital lied about the woman's pregnancy and cheated them of money. In contrast, the hospital alleged that the woman was going through mental health issues due to which she pretended to be pregnant. 

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When the woman didn't experience labor pains after the doctor's given due date of September 22, she was taken to Gokavaram primary health centre as suspicions arose amongst the family members, where they performed a scan on her. The scan revealed that she is not pregnant. 

After that, the family members went to the Kakinada hospital to question them. However, it has been reported by The New Indian Express that this was not her first pregnancy, as she had given birth to a stillborn last year. It is alleged that the patient's mother-in-law used to harass her. 

After becoming pregnant, she was taken to Ramya Hospital at Gandhinagar in Kakinada, from where she began consulting twice a month in January. Following the revelation, the patient's husband filed a complaint with the police and the district collector. 

Meanwhile, a press conference was conducted by the hospital officials who alleged that the woman is going through mental health issues due to her mother-in-law's harassment. According to Dr. Prabhavathi and Dr. Pithani Annavaram, Chief Physicians of Ramya Hospital, the patients came to the hospital claiming to be pregnant. She was going through some health issues after losing her baby in August last year, said the doctors, stating that the patient refused to listen when the doctors told her she was not pregnant. Dr. Prabhavathi claimed that she pretended pregnant due to pressure from her mother-in-law. 

A probe was carried out by the District Immunisation Officer Dr. K Anjibabu and staff who visited the hospitals on Monday based on the instructions of the senior officials. They met the relatives of the woman and doctors at the hospital and verified all medical records. According to Dr. Anjibabu, the preliminary report would be submitted to the District Medical and Health Official (DMHO).

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