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A 28-year-old pregnant woman delivered four stillborn babies in an auto-rickshaw while being referred to a hospital in Madhya Pradesh's Mandla district after an ambulance was allegedly unavailable in time.
Speaking to ANI, District Health Officer Dr P L Kori said that the woman is currently stable and undergoing treatment at Community Health Centre (CHC), Bichhiya. "A pregnant woman from a village near the Ghutas Primary Health Centre (PHC) under Bichhiya block, who was around six to seven months pregnant, developed abdominal pain and was taken to the Ghutas PHC. She was examined by the doctor and the staff nurse, who found that she was carrying more than one baby. She was therefore referred to the Community Health Centre (CHC) at Bichhiya," Dr Kori said. As the woman had arrived at the PHC in a private vehicle, doctors referred her to the CHC in the same vehicle to avoid any delay, the health official said. "Between Ghutas and Bichhiya, her labour pain intensified and she delivered all four babies on the way. All four were stillborn. She was then admitted to CHC Bichhiya. At present, the woman's condition is stable and she is healthy," Dr Kori said. When asked about allegations that an ambulance did not arrive after being called, the health officer said ambulance services are managed at the state level and that some waiting time is common. "The ambulances are managed at the state level. They are generally not available immediately, and whenever one is called, it normally takes around 30 minutes to an hour to arrive. As a result, people sometimes face difficulties and if a private vehicle is available sooner, some people choose to use that instead," he said. Meanwhile, the woman said she began experiencing labour pain around 9 pm on Monday, which intensified the following morning. She was taken to Ghutas PHC and referred to CHC Bichhiya. "At around 12 pm, delivery took place half way to the hospital. We were travelling in an auto. The nurses called the 108 ambulance, but they said it would take about an hour to arrive. So they told us to leave immediately for Bichhiya Hospital. I delivered the babies halfway to the hospital, in the auto itself. I then reached the hospital at around 12:30 pm. Four babies were born and all of them were stillborn," she said. When asked whether any hospital official had accompanied her during the referral, the woman said that she was accompanied only by her mother, husband and two sisters-in-law, adding that no staff or official from the Ghutas Primary Health Centre accompanied her while she was being referred to the Community Health Centre at Bichhiya. (ANI)
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