A woman delivered a baby outside the Rural Health Centre(RHC) at Simhachalam here on Thursday. The woman, who was in an advanced stage of pregnancy, was taken to the hospital. The hospital staff reportedly asked her to get tested for COVID-19 before admission.
The woman delivered the baby as she waited for the test. The mother and baby were sent to the King George Hospital (KGH) in the city for neonatal care. Her relatives alleged negligence on the part of the staff as she was made to wait despite being in an advanced stage of pregnancy.
“Pregnant women normally suffer three to four hours of labour pain before delivery. This is a case of precipitous labour, where delivery happens rapidly, after pains begin. It is her third pregnancy and repeated pregnancies can result in this kind of a situation. The woman was not sent anywhere else but asked to go for the COVID test within the same hospital. The baby was small and had to be sent to the KGH for neonatal care,” P.V. Sudhakar, Principal, Andhra Medical College, told The Hindu .
