A newborn baby died at Sohra Community Health Centre under suspicious and chaotic circumstances, the Civil Society Women’s Organisation (CSWO) said today.
According to a press release, the baby died on February 19 after the mother went to Sohra CHC early that morning as she was experiencing labour pains.
However, the gynaecologist was on leave but the staff there took the woman to the labour room. Soon after, though, the nurse on duty ordered the pregnant woman to be moved to the ward because she was supposedly not in labour.
The nurse also recommended a scan, for which the patient would have had to travel to Shillong for as the CHC does not have the necessary device.
Additionally, there was some confusion about the expected date of delivery, as the woman’s doctor’s card stated this as February 2, though this had been overwritten as March 2.
Still in pain, the woman was finally taken to the labour room where she delivered.
“Children and mothers are dying in the state of Meghalaya and we cannot just watch them continue dying,” CSWO President Agnes Kharshiing and General Secretary Evangeline Thabah said. “We are also informed that some nurses and doctors are getting appointments in the government of Meghalaya through the back door by paying to get a job. We as stakeholders in the government cannot keep quiet when babies are dying and it is a human right violation if we play with lives.”
The CSWO urged that the patient and child records have to be taken by the authorities and checked so that the family gets justice. A photo of the child looks healthy and strong and a child specialist should provide an expert report as to why the child died and who examined the patient before the delivery and what were in the records in the hospital about the child and the mother, the CSWO further demanded.
