Four premature babies die after woman delivers in autorickshaw in Madhya Pradesh

A woman delivered quadruplets in an autorickshaw while being taken to a hospital in Madhya Pradesh's Mandla district. All four premature babies died shortly after birth. The family blamed the absence of an ambulance, while health officials attributed the deaths to premature delivery

Mandla (Madhya Pradesh): A woman gave birth to quadruplets in an autorickshaw while being taken to a hospital for delivery in Madhya Pradesh’s Mandla district on Tuesday, but all four newborns died shortly after birth. Her family alleged that the lack of an ambulance led to the tragedy.

The woman’s husband claimed that had an ambulance been made available on time, the babies could have survived. However, health officials said the infants died due to premature delivery and incomplete development.

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District Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO) Dr D J Mohanty said Rajni Singaram, a resident of Naigaon, was brought to the government health centre in Ghuthas in a private vehicle after she experienced labour pain in the seventh month of her pregnancy.

Due to her critical condition, she was referred to the Community Health Centre in Bichhiya in an autorickshaw, Mohanty said.

Before reaching the Community Health Centre, Rajni delivered four babies in the autorickshaw, Mohanty said, adding, “All four babies died because they were premature and weighed around 1.5 kg each.” Three of the babies were girls and one was a boy, she said.

The CMHO said the woman has been admitted to the Bichhiya Community Health Centre and is out of danger.

The woman’s family alleged that they called the emergency ambulance service after she went into labour, but received no response. They then took her to the hospital in an autorickshaw.

Her husband, Ganesh Singaram, reiterated that if an ambulance had been available on time, their children could have been saved.

Responding to the allegations, Mandla District Magistrate Rahul Namdev Dhote told PTI that he had not received any complaint in the matter.

He said that if a complaint is received, the matter will be investigated and necessary action will be taken.