Bhopal: Four premature newborns died after a 28-year-old pregnant woman delivered quadruplets inside an autorickshaw while being shifted to a hospital in BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh, with the family alleging that the tragedy was caused by the failure to provide a timely ambulance.
The incident occurred on Tuesday morning in Naiganwa village of Mandla district's Bichhiya block. Rajni Singram, who was around seven months pregnant, developed labour pains, prompting her family to call the 108 ambulance service. After waiting for a considerable time without an ambulance arriving, they arranged a private vehicle to take her to a Primary Health Centre.
Following an examination, doctors referred her to the Bichhiya Community Health Centre for advanced care. She was then transported in an autorickshaw, but went into labour during the journey and delivered four babies before reaching the hospital. Doctors later confirmed that all four newborns had died.
The family blamed the delay in ambulance services, alleging that the babies might have survived had emergency medical assistance and specialised treatment been made available in time. The incident has triggered protests, with demands for an investigation into the alleged failure of emergency healthcare services.
Health officials, however, said Rajni was around 30 weeks pregnant and had delivered before reaching the hospital. They stated that the babies were born severely premature, each weighing about 1.5 kg, and died due to complications associated with extreme prematurity and very low birth weight. Officials added that the mother received immediate treatment after admission and is now in stable condition.