Uttarakhand: Teenage girl delivers baby boy in Hospital washroom, both die

Dehradun: A teenager, around 18 years old has died of excessive bleeding at the Rudraprayag district hospital, while the body of the baby she delivered was found in the toilet of the medical facility.

The girl was reported to be unmarried, and doctors at the hospital alleged that the girl who was accompanied by her mother did not inform them that the girl was pregnant. Currently, the Revenue Police, which has jurisdiction in the area is investigating the case. 

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At a press conference, chief medical superintendent of the district hospital Rajiv Singh said the woman was admitted to for treatment of low hemoglobin levels and the hospital was not informed about her pregnancy.

The woman died of excessive bleeding on her hospital bed at 3 am the body of her baby was found in the toilet at 5 am, Chief Medical Officer of Rudraprayag B K Shukla told PTI. A departmental inquiry has been ordered into the incident, the Shukla said. 

The officials are investigating how the girl was taken to a toilet midnight after her initial check-up was over, and was made to deliver a baby without anyone's knowledge. They are also investigating the cause behind her pregnancy, reports the Times of India. In addition to that, a three-member committee has been formed to look into the matter by Rudraprayag chief medical officer, said Shukla. 

According to the doctors working at the hospital, the girl was referred to another hospital as her haemoglobin level was found to be extremely low -- 3 HgB per decilitre (normal is 11.6 to 15 HgB per decilitre). However, as per sources, the girl's mother insisted on getting her treated at the same facility and took her to a toilet, where she delivered a baby boy late at night. After that, the girl began to bleed profusely and subsequently died. As per the Amarujala, the body of the baby was found by the sanitation workers. 

Further, the postmortem report of the baby which would be prepared by the probe panel would determine whether the child was stillborn or died after birth. The sources further observed that it was "shocking that the doctor doing the initial check-up couldn't tell the girl was eight to nine months pregnant and needed immediate attention."

Dr Rajeev Singh, Chief Medical Superintendent, District Hospital said, "After the blood test, the doctors were referring her to another hospital but the girl's mother refused. She gave in writing that her daughter should be treated in the hospital itself. She did not tell her that her daughter was pregnant. The fault of the family is coming to the fore in the whole incident. If she had told the right thing to the doctors, the girl would have received better treatment."

Meanwhile, a senior doctor said, "Her body was swollen due to severe anaemia. She looked minor, almost 18 years old, but not an adult yet. Her mother told doctors she was unmarried and that her menstrual cycle was regular, hiding the fact that she was pregnant. The doctor trusted them and presumed it to be a severe case of anaemia and stomach pain."

Another doctor observed, "It's quite strange that the girl delivered a baby in the toilet of the hospital without making a noise, which would have alerted hospital staff and patients. It is normal for women to scream from pain from the extreme pain of delivering a child. It was a full-grown male baby. It's bizarre that she simply delivered the child, left it dead in the toilet, returned to her bed bleeding profusely and died in a few hours. Hospital staff did try to give her medical aid in her last moments after the mother approached them for help."

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