Two pregnant women dead in Cheluvamba Hospital

One died due to epilepsy, another after uterus removal

Two pregnant women who were admitted to the government-owned Cheluvamba Hospital died within a span of 12 hours between Monday and Tuesday. While one woman died of epilepsy on the operation table, another died after pre-mature delivery.The deceased are Vasantha (28), wife of Shivanna from Hirehalli, HD Kote taluk in Mysuru district, and Sameena Taj from Lashkar Mohalla in the city.

Vasantha, who had a pre-mature delivery through Caesarean section on Monday, developed bleeding problem as her uterus failed to contract after the delivery. So, on Tuesday, she was operated upon to remove the uterus, but in vain. She died after shifting to the ward at around 11 am.

It was the second successful delivery for Vasantha, after four still born deaths, said a relative, present at the hospital.

Vasantha’s husband Shivanna said, “I admitted my wife to the hospital following labour pain. I don’t know what to do next”. His relative Yogesh from T Narsipur said, “If such is the fate of women admitted to government hospitals, how can we expect anything better from the hospitals.”

For Sameena Taj, it was her first delivery but she died as she suffered epileptic seizure during her operation. However, no complaints have been lodged with the jurisdictional Devaraja police station in this regard.

Experts’ committee
With the recent two deaths, a total of six women have died in the hospital this month,  orcing the authorities concerned to set up an experts’ committee.

Mysore Medical College and Research Institute (MMC and RI) Dean and Director Dr B Krishnamurthy, who was in Bengaluru, told Deccan Herald, “An emergency meeting was conducted under the Chairmanship of Medical Education Minister Dr R Sharan Prakash Patil and was decided to form a committee as per the procedure to vet into the causes behind the deaths.”

He said, in some cases there are explainable reasons, while it is not so in other cases, following which experts will examine if it was due to drugs or any other reason.
According to Dr Krishnamurthy, Dr K Radhamani, Medical Superintendent of Cheluvamba Hospital, also joined him in the meeting and has submitted a status report in the case.