IGMH probes allegation prematurely born infant left untreated to die

Indhira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) in Male’ has been accused of leaving an infant born prematurely to the hospital unattended to die.

The mother gave birth in IGMH at five months on Saturday. She was hospitalized after she began having contractions, and gave birth inside the toilet after she went into labor unexpectedly. The family told Sun the infant was born into the hands of the nurses.

The cause of the premature birth is believed to be the result of a uterine fibroid.

The infant’s uncle told Sun the child was born at 09:15 pm on Saturday, and died at 03:26 am on Sunday after being left untreated.

He said that after the birth, the infant was taken and kept at the cleaning and changing area at the ward. The infant was kept on a tray covered in a blue cloth on a trolley. He was that the infant wasn’t cleaned, and was kept without so much as a clip on the umbilical cord stump.

He said that the infant showed movement and was breathing, and that the nurses themselves confirmed it.

“I saw with my own eyes the baby was opening its mouth and making movements. The baby was breathing. I asked if the baby was alright. And they said yes, that the baby had a heartbeat and was breathing. After they said that, I asked the nurses wouldn’t the baby feel cold. And they told me to wrap a cloth around the baby,” said the uncle.

He said that it was he himself who wrapped a cloth around the infant.

The uncle initially assumed the infant was being kept there for treatment, and began to grow concerned when he saw no attempt at treatment. After he expressed his concerns, the nurses told him that according to a pediatrician, the chance for the infant’s survival was very low given the infant weighed just 300 grams.

He said that he told the nurses we wished for the infant to be treated, despite the low chance for survival.

“I asked them what they were going to do. I told them we wished to take a chance even if the chances were low. They said they cannot do anything until the baby dies,” said the uncle.

The uncle said that he realized talking to the nurses would prove useless, and attempted to talk to the hospital management.

He called a manager at the hospital, after which the infant was taken to the nurses’ station, and blue cloth the infant lay on was replaced with a white cloth, and a piece of bandage was laid under the head as a pillow.

However, the infant remained untreated.

“There was nothing hooked to the baby. The baby was just kept there without any treatment,” he said.

The uncle said he asked the nurses if the infant was just to be kept like that, and was told that the infant was being kept until they can declare the death.

“A living being, a child breathing well and with a good heartbeat. But kept to be declared dead because the baby was born at five months and was underweight,” he said.

He said he called government ministers, state ministers, and even senior officials at the President’s Office that night, asking for the infant to be treated.

He said that though he received their support, the infant died untreated. The hospital conducted an ECG and declared the infant’s death at 03:26 am.

“The baby was breathing and moving. But they left the baby exposed in the cold before our very eyes and killed the child,” he said.

“After the baby died, they came and asked if the mother wishes to hold the baby.”

The uncle believes it to be deliberate murder and plans on reporting it to the authorities.

The police said a report over the case has not been lodged with the authority, and that Health Ministry has jurisdiction over conducting initial investigations into such cases.

IGMH has not clarified whether they treated the infant or not. Neither has the hospital clarified its reasons for the decision, if the infant was left untreated. Lack of response from IGMH has also left Sun unable to establish the hospital’s protocol for treating prematurely born infants.

IGMH’s spokesperson told Sun that the case is under investigation by the hospital, and they are therefore unable to disclose further information at this time as it is an ongoing investigation. The spokesperson said the hospital will issue a statement once the investigation is complete.