A baby declared dead by doctors at Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital on Sunday was found to be alive moments before its burial. Medical Superintendent Dr AK Rai said they had started an inquiry to find out why the 22-week-old premature baby was declared dead, but he maintained that there was no medical negligence, The Indian Express reported.
Rai said the baby weighed 460 grams, and that according to the World Health Organisation’s guidelines, such children “don’t survive and are not supposed to be revived”. “Hence, there is no medical negligence on part of the doctors,” he said. “However, even if the baby did not cry and was motionless, staff should have checked if the baby was alive. We will conduct an inquiry into the matter.”
The baby’s father told ANI that they had noticed him moving before his burial and took him to Apollo Hospital. He had told The Indian Express that the nursing staff had handed the child over to him in a “sealed packet” after telling him that that he was not breathing.
The mother was brought to Safdarjung Hospital on Sunday morning after she began to bleed heavily and made to undergo an emergency operation. The police said the family had said in writing that they did not want to take legal action against the hospital.
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