Woman dies after attempting home birth based on Youtube videos, husband arrested

Kiruthika, a 28-year-old private school teacher, from Rathnagirishwarar Nagar, died minutes after giving birth to a girl due to excessive bleeding. Kiruthika’s husband Karthikeyan and Praveen, a friend of the couple were arrested by the police.

Police said the couple had been watching YouTube videos on childbirth and decided to give it a try. Their resolve strengthened after Karthikeyan’s friend Praveen claimed that his wife Lalitha too had given birth without medical assistance. Karthikeyan and Kiruthika were married for seven years and have a three year-old daughter. 

When Kiruthika developed labour pains on July 22, Karthikeyan informed Praveen, who, with his wife arrived to help.  “Soon after giving birth, the young mother suffered from severe blood loss and became unconscious. She was rushed to Tirupur GH but doctors declared her dead on arrival,” an officer said.  

The incident came to light on Wednesday after texts about the incident started doing rounds on social media. Kiruthika’s father Rajendran, who had filed a complaint, said “I knew of their decision and they refused to pay heed to our warnings. This cost my daughter her life.”

Kiruthika’s baby girl is in good health at a hospital.