Pregnant woman, foetus die as hospitals refuse admission

A woman and her foetus died as hospitals denied her admission. She died in an ambulance. The people in-charge of the crematorium denied cremating the woman as she was pregnant. As many as five hospitals refused to operate on her and remove the foetus out.

Hyderabad: A pregnant woman and her foetus died waiting for a bed as several hospitals refused to admit her fearing she may have been infected with COVID-19. As her family members frantically kept pleading one hospital after the other, the nine-month pregnant woman breathed her last in an ambulance.

Pavani, the deceased, was a resident of Mallapur in Hyderabad. On Friday morning, she visited the hospital she regularly goes to, for uneasiness and fatigue. However, the hospital did not admit her fearing she may be carrying the COVID-19 virus. Soon, she was rushed to another hospital. Here, too, she was denied admission for the same reason. Her relatives desperately knocked on the doors of several hospitals but to no avail. As some people advised that she be taken to either Gandhi Hospital or Koti Maternity Hospital, her relatives acted accordingly. However, Pavani died en route to the hospital. Doctors later confirmed that both the woman and her foetus were dead.

Denied cremation

Pavani and her family's ordeals did not end here. The Mallapur crematorium in-charge and undertakers refused to cremate her body as she was pregnant. Realising that removing the foetus from Pavani's womb was the only option in order to give the mother and her child a dignified funeral, her family members approached as many as five hospitals. However, none of them agreed to carry out the procedure. Finally, doctors at a local hospital agreed to slit Pavani's body and remove the dead foetus out.

Medchal–Malkajgiri Collector Sweta Mohanty has ordered an inquiry on this incident. Based on her order, the district medical health officer visited Pavani's residence and gathered details.