The deaths of 20 postpartum women and kidney failure of 10 in the last two months after C-Section delivery in government hospitals of five districts of Rajasthan have created panic from the districts to the capital, Jaipur.
On Wednesday, four of the five new mothers admitted to Kota Medical College Hospital, Ragini Meena, Aarti Chowdhary, Pinky, and Sushila, came out of the facility, expressing their anguish in front of the media, and requested euthanasia.
The kidneys of these women had failed after cesarean deliveries. All five have been admitted to the hospital's nephrology ward for nearly two months and are undergoing continuous dialysis.
Kidney transplant or euthanasia
The women demanded that the government either provide a kidney transplant facility or allow them euthanasia. A memorandum was sent to the President on Wednesday in this regard. The victim asserted that they suffer immense pain during dialysis and hence refused to continue with the procedure.
A couple of days ago, the relatives of the postpartum women had submitted a memorandum to the Kota District Collector demanding kidney transplants at government expense.
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The relatives asked to administer euthanasia in case of refusal of the kidney transplant demand.
The incidents have sparked panic among the high-level officials and in the ministry. The Health Minister, Principal Secretary of the Medical Department and other senior officials visited the districts on Tuesday and Wednesday where the new mothers had died.
While the cases continue to rise, the government-appointed probe committee has not yet submitted its final report.
This has led to accusations that the government is protecting the responsible officials instead of taking action against them.
According to sources, the inquiry committee had recommended action against Kota Medical College Principal Dr Nilesh Jain in its preliminary report, but the medical department merely issued a notice to the hospital superintendent. The recommendation for action against Bikaner Medical College Principal Dr Surendra Kumar Verma was also ignored.
Guidelines issued
Following the continued deaths of pregnant women in government hospitals from the last week of May until July 15, the government has established guidelines.
- Continuous health screening of pregnant women across the state.
- Important prenatal health checkups will be performed on women, and records will be maintained, and health will be monitored accordingly.
- High-risk pregnant women will be monitored separately by a separate team. Separate records will also be maintained for anaemia, high blood pressure, diabetes, and excessive bleeding during previous deliveries.
- Instructions given for the availability of life-saving drugs and blood in hospitals, to keep operating theatres clean, to keep hospitals infection-free, and to create optical ICUs.
- Every pregnant woman must be registered within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, and all information must be uploaded to the portal.
- Ban on oxytocin injections and bupivacaine, an anaesthetic used during cesarean deliveries.
District-wise deaths
A postpartum woman died due to cardiac arrest late on Tuesday night in Bikaner's PBM hospital. So far, four pregnant women have died, and four have suffered kidney failure after caesarean delivery in Bikaner.
So far in July, five new mothers have died in the government hospital in Bhilwara and four in Banswara.
In the last week of May, five postpartum women died in Kota, and seven had kidney failures. Two women have died in Jodhpur.
Many reasons for death, says Health Minister
Health Minister Gajendra Singh Khinvsar said, "There are various reasons for the deaths of pregnant women. Investigations so far have revealed that some of the deaths were due to various reasons, including kidney failure, anaemia, excessive bleeding after delivery, and poor nutrition."