Woman's kin stage stir against doc over newborn's death

Family members of a 21-year-old woman staged a protest at Gayathri Hospital in Vijayanagar, claiming that the doctor did not attend to her on time, leading to the death of her newborn.

Girish, a relative of Shwetha who was admitted to the hospital, said on Thursday, “At 10.30 am on Wednesday, she was given an injection as she had no labour pain. Dr Vanajakshi said that she would get back by 3 pm. However, she came back only by 7.30 pm. It is this negligence that led to the death of the baby”. The newborn died at 9.30 pm on Wednesday.

Foetal distress

Dr Vanajakshi said that there was foetal distress and that the baby died of Meconium Aspiration (a condition where the child inhales a mixture of meconium and amniotic fluid).

“The family was continuously briefed about the condition of the child. A team of doctors tried their best to revive the newborn, but in vain. Those attending to Shwetha understood the situation well and did not create an issue. However, a group of people claiming to be relatives of the patient staged a protest this (Thursday) morning,” she said.  

‘False allegations’

The doctor said that the protestors made false allegations that she did not attend to the patient on time, while she was at the hospital itself, attending to another case.

The police registered a case against Dr Vanajakshi after a complaint was filed with the Vijayanagar police. The doctor was booked under IPC Section 304 (a) (causing death by negligence).

The doctor told the police that there was water inside the mother’s womb, which led to the baby’s death.

DH News Service