HIV+ pregnant woman left unattended as hospital staff ‘refuse to touch her’, baby dies

AGRA: A 20-year-old HIV positive woman who had gone into labour was allegedly left unattended at a medical college in UP's Firozabad for over six hours as the hospital staff "refused to touch her". The woman gave birth to a boy who died hours later, reports Deepak Lavania. The woman's family said on Tuesday that the delay in pre-birth treatment resulted in the death of the baby.

Taking cognisance of the matter, Firozabad Medical College principal Sangeeta Aneja said, “A probe has been ordered on the basis of a complaint received from the woman’s family.”

The woman's father, who works in the bangle-making industry, said, “The private hospital was asking Rs 20,000 for normal delivery. After consulting with the district field officer of National AIDS Control Organisation (Naco), I reached the medical college around 2.50pm on Sunday. My daughter lay on a stretcher and kept crying in pain for over six hours. Despite repeated requests, no doctor came to help her.”

“As time passed, her suffering increased. After a delay of over six hours, when the matter reached senior officials, a nurse took my daughter to the labour room. She gave birth to a baby boy who was having breathing difficulties. The staff didn’t allow us to closely see the child and took him to a special newborn care unit. The next morning, we were told that the child had died. The staff at the hospital are now putting pressure on me to sign a letter that it was no fault of theirs," he added.

Naco field officer Sarita Yadav told TOI, “I had been keeping in constant touch with the HIV-positive woman. The family was unable to afford treatment at a private hospital so I called them to the medical college. But no doctor or hospital staffer came near her. For hours I requested medical assistance. The woman was in a lot of pain. I have apprised senior officials about the incident.”

The woman has been living with her parents in Firozabad after she got separated from her husband a year after her wedding. She got the HIV infection soon after getting married, her family claimed.