In a shocking case from Tamil Nadu, a 28-year-old woman died from pregnancy-related complications after she allegedly attempted to deliver the child at her residence. The Tirupur Rural Police Station told TNM that preliminary investigation had shown that the family did not believe in modern medicine and did not take the woman to hospital for delivery. Reports say that the couple watched YouTube videos on homebirth.
Krithiga, who lived in Tirupur died due to excessive bleeding on July 22, after delivering the baby. The deceased and her husband Karthigeyan are residents of Rathnagiriswarar Nagar near Pudupalayam; she reportedly worked as a school teacher, while her husband is employed at a knitwear agency.
As per a report in ToI, the couple that already has a three-year-old girl decided to birth at home, and watched 'How to help pregnant woman' videos. But the placenta reportedly did not come out during the delivery.
"She bled to death," the Nallur (Rural) police confirmed to TNM. "The contractions began at 2pm but she was taken to the Government Hospital only later after the baby was born. The husband will be investigated in connection to the death," they said.
The city Health Officer K Boopathy meanwhile told ToI that the couple was guided by their friends Praveen and wife Lavanya, who allegedly believed in natural medical practices. They were reportedly the ones who convinced the affected couple to opt for a home birth. Krithiga's pregnancy was allegedly not registered with the concerned Urban Primary Healthcare Centre.
In a complaint filed by Krithiga's father Rajendran, he has said that she was rushed to the government hospital in Tirupur but the doctors there examined her and said that she had passed away. He says the body was handed over to him without a postmortem and when he took the body to the crematorium, they asked for a death certificate from the doctors. He also requested the hospital to carry out a postmortem and issue a death certificate, states the complaint,
Tamil Nadu holds the distinction of being amongst the three states with a Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) below the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of 70. It stands at 66 along with Kerala at 46 and Maharashtra at 61.
The state is further planning to make it mandatory for all pregnant women to register themselves with the Health Department to ensure that the pregnancy and childbirth happen safely. Those who don't register pregnancy will reportedly not get to register the childbirth, and hence not get a birth certificate for the child.