A 28-year-old woman delivered quadruplets inside an autorickshaw as an ambulance allegedly failed to reach their home on time and all newborn were declared dead upon arrival at hospital, officials said on Wednesday, attributing the deaths to premature delivery.
According to officials, Rajni Sindram, a resident of Naigawan village in Mandla district’s Bichhiya block, experienced severe labour pains at her home at about 7 am on Tuesday. She was said to be seven months pregnant.
Her husband, Ganesh Singaram, said, “We immediately called the 108 ambulance service but no ambulance arrived. Seeing her condition deteriorating, we called the local Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) worker and rushed her to the nearby Primary Health Centre in an auto at about 8 am.”
At the primary health centre, the doctor provided initial treatment and referred her to the Community Health Centre (CHC) in Bichhiya town.
But before reaching the community health centre, she gave birth to four children in a private vehicle, district chief medical and health officer (CMHO) Dr DJ Mohanty said, adding, “All four babies — three girls and a boy — died because they were premature and weighed around 1.5 kilograms each.”
Bichhiya block medical officer Dr Anup Kumar Bharatiya said, “The pregnancy was about 30 weeks. Due to premature delivery, the new born were not fully developed. By the time the woman arrived, the delivery had already taken place.” Each baby weighed around 1.5 kilogram.
{{/usCountry}}Bichhiya block medical officer Dr Anup Kumar Bharatiya said, “The pregnancy was about 30 weeks. Due to premature delivery, the new born were not fully developed. By the time the woman arrived, the delivery had already taken place.” Each baby weighed around 1.5 kilogram.
{{/usCountry}}Bharatiya said an ASHA worker accompanied the woman throughout and added that he had no information about the ambulance not reaching Rajini’s home. He said the women’s condition was stable and she was receiving treatment.
District collector Rahul Dhote Namdeo said an inquiry is underway. “We are investigating the matter. As of now, it appears the new born died due to premature delivery,” he said.
The MP government has repeatedly assured that ambulances would be provided for pregnant women across the state.