Woman Delivers Baby By The Road After Being Denied Hospital Admission

A woman was reportedly forced to deliver her baby on the side of the road outside a hospital after she was denied admission into the facility in Telangana, India on Tuesday, Jan. 25.

On Tuesday, the pregnant woman was rushed to the Community Health Centre (CHC) in Achampet of Nagarkurnool district, Telangana for her delivery. However, after she tested positive for COVID-19, the doctors at the health center refused to admit her and told her to go to another health facility.

Faced with the tough predicament, the expectant mother had no other choice but to deliver her baby by the side of the road outside the hospital, NDTV reported.

After safely delivering the baby, the woman and the newborn were finally admitted into the hospital. The mother and child are currently in stable condition.

After hearing about the news, the Telangana Vaidhya Vidhana Parishad Commissioner Dr. K Ramesh Reddy labeled it as an act of gross negligence and violation of rules. he subsequently placed the Superintendent of the hospital and the duty doctor of CHC Achampet under suspension effective immediately, the News Minute reported.

The government had reportedly given prior instructions to all government hospitals not to deny any admission to pregnant women even if they test positive for COVID-19.

In a similar but unrelated incident, a 24-year-old woman, from a village in Nainital, Uttarakhand, India, was forced to give birth on the road in heavy rain after waiting for two hours for an ambulance on Thursday, Jan. 20, the Times Of India reported.

On Thursday, Jan. 20, Nirmala Arya, 24, started experiencing labor pains. The woman’s family immediately dialed the 108 hotline to call for an ambulance to take her to the hospital. A driver reportedly responded and the family was notified that the ambulance was on its way. Even though it was raining heavily, the expectant mother's kin helped her walk 15 minutes to reach the spot where the ambulance driver told them that he would pick them up.

However, they were left waiting for two hours and the ambulance never came. Arya had no other option but to give birth by the side of the road despite the pouring rain.

Later, when Arya and her newborn were rushed to a hospital, the doctors also refused to take care of the family and referred them to Susheela Tiwari Hospital. When they reached Susheela Tiwari Hospital, the child could not initially get a ventilator. After her family members contacted district authorities, and after waiting half an hour, the baby was finally assigned a ventilator. However, by the time the equipment arrived, the newborn was already declared dead by the doctors.

Meanwhile, Shubham Kumar, Arya’s nephew, said that his father had also died due to an ambulance not reaching their home on time years ago.

“This is the second death in the family caused by the delay of an ambulance. We have lost faith in the system completely,” he said.