Woman delivers a baby in a local train after allegedly being turned down by two BMC hospitals

On October 25, a 26-year-old woman delivered a baby in a local train after she was allegedly refused admission by at least two civic-run hospitals. Her husband alleged that she was directed to approach another facility in Central Mumbai while she was in labour.

A senior officer said that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will set up an inquiry into the “unprofessional and unethical” conduct of the staffers of the hospitals concerned.

The woman, identified as Surekha Tiwari, delivered a baby in a compartment of a suburban train ahead of Dadar railway station when she was traveling to Nair Hospital in Central Mumbai along with her husband Sushil Tiwari, after she was allegedly turned away by two civic hospitals in suburban Bhayander and Kandivali.

Nair Hospital is one of the premier medical facilities run by the Mumbai civic body.

Also Read: India’s First Engineless Locomotive 'Train 18' To Be Inaugurated Today

Tiwari claimed that he first rushed his wife to Tembha civic hospital in Bhayander in the wee hours of October 25, after she went into labour. Tiwari said that the hospital staffers gave her some tablets and told him to take her to Shatabdi Hospital in Kandivali saying they don’t want to take the risk.

According to Tiwari, he and his wife reached Shatabdi Hospital but the nurses there refused to admit her demanding case papers from Tembha hospital.

Also Read: Seven Workers Suffer Injuries After Falling Down From An Old Scaffolding In Thane

He added that he left his wife in labour pain and rushed back to Bhayander to bring the case papers. When he returned to Shatabdi Hospital at around 11.30 am, the doctors asked him to go to Nair hospital in Mumbai Central, which is located around 33 kms away from Kandivali. He further said that the doctors didn’t give any reason for shifting his wife to another hospital. 

Later Tiwari and his wife boarded a local train and after some time, she delivered a baby boy when the train was approaching Dadar station at around 1:00 pm. The duo reached KEM Hospital, where the doctors cut the umbilical cord of the newborn and admitted him in the ICU.

Doctors at KEM hospital said that the infant weighed just 950 grams at the time of birth but is doing fine now.

Chief Medical Superintendent of BMC-run hospitals Dr Shashikant Wadekar said that an inquiry will be conducted into this unfortunate incident. If hospital staffers are found guilty, then action will be taken against them.