A woman was forced to deliver her baby in an open field after doctors at a hospital in
India refused to admit her, saying the unborn baby had died in the womb.
Eight months pregnant Samarwati Devi, 24, from a small village in the Dindori district of Madhya Pradesh, central India, went to a local district government hospital at 3am on Monday, complaining of pains and fearing an early labour.
But reportedly doctors declared her baby had died in her womb due to stress.
Samarwati Devi, 24, was eight months pregnant when she went to hospital thinking she was going into labour. She was told that the fetus had died and forced to leave
A relative holding the newborn baby. New mother Samarwati Devi from Madhya Pradesh, India, says she was slapped by nurses
Samarwati claims she was slapped by the nurses and refused admission to the hospital, forcing her to leave in the middle of the night.
She said: ‘I went to the hospital and told them I was pain. They didn’t even look at me properly before they told me my child was dead inside of me.
‘I started screaming and crying loudly, fearing their words, but the nurses slapped me and asked me to leave the hospital. I was not even admitted.
‘They forced me to leave the hospital and I had no other option than to go.’
Samarwati, 24, gave birth in the middle of a field on her way home from hospital, where local women shielded her with their sarees
A woman helps Samawati after she delivered her baby boy in a field in India after being refused admittance to the hospital
An investigation into what happened at the hospital has been launched by the Chief Medical Officer who described the incident as ‘totally condemnable’
Samarwati had started walking the trek back home with some relatives when her pains began again.
She went into labour at 5am on the pathway.
Eventually, she gave birth to a healthy baby boy in an open field with the help of relatives and a group of women who heard her screams and came to help with blankets and water.
The women used their sarees to create a tent around her while she was delivering the child, for her privacy.
Locals used their knives to cut the umbilical cord, then took the mother and child to the same hospital where they were initially refused admission for a check-up.
Samarwati and her baby are currently staying with relatives while they recover from the incident, and she is enjoying spending time with her newborn son
An ambulance arrived after Samarwati gave birth, leaving her relatives and kind strangers to care for her. Locals used their knives to cut the umbilical cord
Chief Medical Officer of the Government hospital, RK Mehra, said: ‘The incident is totally condemnable. I am taking statements off of all the staff members present on that night duty.
‘We are probing the matter and strict action will be taken against whoever is found guilty. We will suspend the person in charge that night if needed.
‘We do not condone this kind of treatment towards any member of the public in need.’
Samarwati and her son, who is yet to be named, are now staying with relatives while recovering from the traumatic labour. She is enjoying spending time with the healthy newborn.