24 hours after coming ‘alive’, Theni baby dies in govt hosp

Sources said that the parents, Pilaventhira Raja and Fathima Mary of Tahsildar Nagar near Periyakulam in Theni district, along with some of their relatives took the body of the baby to a burial ground around 8 am on Sunday after doctors declared that it was a stillborn case. However, parents and the relatives became speechless and shed tears of joy on finding movement in the baby’s body. They rushed with the infant back to Theni Government Medical College Hospital around 11.45 am seeking immediate medical attention. But their joy was short-lived as the baby passed away at 11.30 am on Monday, sources said.

R Balajinathan, Dean, Theni Government Medical College Hospital, when contacted said the baby was put on ventilator support over the last 24 hours and lifesaving drugs were administered, but all in vain. Earlier, the woman consulted a private nursing home and was later admitted to the Theni GH. She already had two children, a male and a female.

It’s a preterm baby that weighed just around 700 grams when the 24 –week fetus remained alive. The pregnant woman was admitted to the hospital on the night of July 3 and gave birth to a baby girl around 3.30 am, the next morning. Some duty doctors and nurses found the baby motionless and showed no sign of respiration. So they declared it a stillborn and handed it over to the parents.

After the parents rushed to the hospital claiming that the baby was alive, the Dean said it could be the negligence on the part of doctors and nurses, who without confirming the death, handed over the baby. A team comprising 3 professors has been formed to probe the issue. Show cause notices have been served on 4 duty doctors and 5 staff nurses, the Dean said.