Twins die at childbirth after MP hospital refuses to treat HIV woman

A pair of twins delivered by an HIV-afflicted woman died during childbirth outside the maternity ward of the Tikamgarh district hospital on Wednesday, after staffers refused to attend to her.

The 24-year-old woman, who hailed from a village located about 70km from the district headquarters, was admitted to the hospital on Tuesday evening. Relatives said the hospital staffers flatly refused to attend to her after examining the pathology reports. “She was crying in pain, but instead of taking her to the labour room, they pushed us out of the maternity ward,” the woman’s mother-in-law said.

“The nurses and doctor on duty said they were referring her to Jhansi because of her HIV affliction. I begged them to let us stay because we didn’t have the money to hire an ambulance, but they would not listen.” Jhansi is located about 100km from Tikamgarh. The woman lay outside the maternity ward for a few hours when she began experiencing severe labour pain around 3 am.

“In desperation, we forced our way into the maternity ward and requested the nurses and doctor to attend to her. But we were greeted with the same reply. Even when the twins were born early the next morning, nobody came forward to help. They died about half-an-hour later,” the mother-in-law said.

It was only after the woman’s relatives registered a complaint with the hospital authorities that she was finally admitted. However, Tikamgarh civil surgeon RS Dandotiya claimed they had little choice in the matter. “No negligence was found on the part of the hospital administration. As she was infected with HIV, we could not take the risk of allowing her into the hospital’s labour room. We referred the woman to a hospital in Jhansi.”

Even when the twins were born early the next morning, nobody came forward to help. They died about halfanhour later.