A woman gave birth to quadruplets inside an autorickshaw while being taken to the hospital in Madhya Pradesh‘s Mandla district. All four newborns died shortly after birth, reported by PTI.
The woman’s family alleged that the absence of ambulance forced them to rely on private transport, resulting in the tragedy. The health officials said that the babies died because they were born prematurely and were underdeveloped.
Woman shifted after labour pain
According to PTI, Rajni Singaram, a resident of Naigaon village, experienced labour pain during the seventh month of her pregnancy and was initially taken to the government health centre in Ghuthas in a private vehicle.
District Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO) Dr D J Mohanty told that due to her critical condition, she was referred to the Community Health Centre in Bichhiya. She was then shifted in an autorickshaw.
However, before reaching the hospital, Rajni delivered four babies inside the vehicle.
“All four babies, three girls and a boy, died because they were premature and weighed around 1.5 kilograms each,” Mohanty said.
The official added that the mother has been admitted to the Bichhiya Community Health Centre and is now out of danger.
Family blames lack of ambulance
The woman’s relatives alleged that they had contacted the emergency ambulance service soon after she went into labour, but no ambulance arrived.
According to PTI, the family then arranged an autorickshaw to take her to the hospital.
Her husband, Ganesh Singaram, claimed that the babies could have survived if an ambulance had arrived on time.
Administration responds
Responding to the family’s allegations, Mandla District Magistrate Rahul Namdev Dhote said he had not received any complaint regarding the incident.
If a complaint is received, the matter will be investigated, and necessary action will be taken, the magistrate said.
While the family has blamed the deaths on the alleged delay in medical transport, health authorities have maintained that the newborns succumbed to complications arising from premature delivery and incomplete development.
The incident has drawn attention to emergency medical transport in rural areas, even as officials and the family have presented differing accounts of what led to the deaths of the four newborns.
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