Hospital Declares The Baby Dead – Comes To Life Before Burial

A pregnant mother waits endlessly to see the face of her to-be-born child and her journey to the hospital is filled with apprehension, anxiety and hopes of the new joys coming her way.

But what happens when the new parents’ worst nightmare comes true as they are told that their baby is no more? And the people responsible for this tragedy are none other than the hospital staff.

This appalling incident happened in Delhi’s famous Safdarjung hospital, where the parents of a premature baby were informed of their child’s death. The family hails from the Badarpur area of Delhi.

It appears that the staff from the nursing department could not detect the pulse or any sign of respiration in the baby. As per the general proceedings in such cases, the body of the baby was sealed in a labeled packet and was handed over to the relatives.

The mother of the baby was already in shock and trauma, recuperating in the hospital. The other members of the family, including Rohit, the father, took the ‘dead-body’ home to make arrangements for the funeral.

It was Rohit’s sister who sensed some motion in the plastic bag containing the body and raised the alarm. On opening the packet, to their horror, the baby was found very much alive, respiring and even moving its tiny hands and legs. An emergency PCR call was made to the concerned authorities. The baby was then immediately taken to the Apollo Hospital and later transferred to Safdarjung hospital.

There was much delay in the emergency health care for the baby that was supposed to be given out at the very moment of its birth. The parents are in shock as to how such a blatant mistake could be committed by the hospital and want the management and staff to be stringently penalized as per law. They have also approached the police for the same. They shudder to think what could have happened if they didn’t find out about their baby being alive.

In their defence, the hospital officials stated that the baby was prematurely born, being only 22 weeks old and weighing only half-a-kilo. It is no less than a miracle that the baby survived because they generally neither survive nor do they qualify as official deliveries as per the WHO guidelines. Moreover, the baby didn’t show any signs of life, which made the staff assume that the baby had died. The hospital management has started an inquiry into the matter to determine how such a lapse could happen on their part.

What is worrying is that this is not the only case. There are numerous reports of dereliction of duty pertaining to ante-natal and neo-natal care. Sometimes it is the pregnant mother, sometimes it is the newborn and sometimes the infants become prey to indifference and unethical medical practices. On the one hand, India is emerging to be a sought-after destination for medical tourists and on the other hand, its own people are neglected to this extent.

It is rather unfortunate that the oldest and the most respected vocation of medicine should violate its own moral codes and principles. In India, the doctors are considered next to God and entrusted with so much faith that people follow their opinions blindly and shell out a huge amount of money at drop of a hat.

The doctors can defend themselves on the circumstantial grounds of each case and individual being different and responding differently to treatments. But the truth is, there is considerable apathy shown towards the patients. So, it is the duty of the doctors to avoid any negligence and attend to emergency cases with alacrity and promptness.

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