Calcutta National Medical College intern apologises over newborn photos after social media backlash

Kolkata: A medical intern at Calcutta National Medical College & Hospital (CNMCH) has apologised and removed photographs and videos showing her posing with newborn babies inside the hospital after the posts sparked criticism on social media over patient privacy and dignity.

According to the news reports, the intern had shared the posts on social media after being photographed holding infants in areas including the neonatal and labour rooms. The posts soon circulated widely online, prompting questions over the privacy and dignity of newborn patients and whether such photographs should be shared on personal social media accounts.

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The controversy also drew the attention of doctor and medical commentator Dr Cyriac Abby Philips, popularly known as TheLiverDoc, who urged the intern to remove the posts and warned that the matter could potentially have serious consequences.

“You can really get into real trouble for this,” he wrote on X, adding that a complaint to the National Medical Commission (NMC), along with the posts and her details, could be enough to trigger action, reports TOI.

When the criticism initially surfaced, the intern explained she had taken consent from family members as well as postgraduate doctors. She said the photographs were taken simply as memories of her time working in the hospital.

However, as the controversy intensified, the intern removed the posts and subsequently issued an apology on X.

In her statement, the intern said she understood that newborn babies carry strong emotional and personal significance for families and apologised for causing hurt. She added that she had not realised that sharing such pictures was considered inappropriate.

She also said she would not share photographs of babies in future, “be it with or without consent”.

Addressing another issue raised online, she said she had sanitised her hands, watch and even the thread she was wearing before entering the labour room complex.

The apology did not end the debate. While some users felt that she had acknowledged her mistake, removed the posts and should now be allowed to move on, others argued that the issue went beyond parental consent and involved the privacy and dignity of newborns.

One doctor defended her, noting that medical students and doctors often share photographs to mark milestones such as their first labour room or operating theatre experience. However, the doctor acknowledged that the circumstances were different because the posts had reached a large audience.

Another user urged the intern to exercise greater caution in the future, arguing that patients should not be treated as props for social media content. Others took a more forgiving view, saying mistakes can happen and that acknowledging and correcting them should be encouraged.

A separate claim circulating online suggested that the intern had been summoned to the dean’s office, reprimanded and asked to issue an apology, with possible action being taken for any future violation of medical guidelines.

The intern denied that she had been forced or pressured to apologise publicly, clarifying that the statement was issued voluntarily.

The incident has since sparked a wider discussion over the boundaries medical professionals should observe when sharing workplace experiences online, particularly when patients, and especially newborns, appear in photographs or videos.

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