Another tragic consequence of failed healthcare management has emerged from Madhya Pradesh’s Mandla district on Wednesday. A pregnant woman, who went into labour, delivered quadruplets inside an auto-rickshaw in the district while being rushed to the hospital. However, all the four newly-born infants died shortly after delivery, as per sources.

The woman’s bereaving family alleged that the ambulance failed to arrive in time, prompting them to rely on private transport and resulting in the ill-fated outcome. Meanwhile, the district’s health officials maintained that the infants died due to complications arising from premature birth and underdevelopment.

Amid contrasting accounts of the circumstances surrounding the infants’ deaths, the incident has sparked fresh concerns over the availability of emergency medical transport in rural areas.

Babies delivered during 7th month

According to official sources, Rajni Singaram, a resident of the Naigaon village in MP’s Mandla, experienced labour pains during the seventh month of her pregnancy. Officials in the know of the case said her kin transported her in a private vehicle to the Government Health Centre at Ghuthas.

The district’s Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO), Dr DJ Mohanty told the media that Rajni’s situation was critical, owing to which, doctors referred her to the Community Health Centre (CHC) in Bichhiya for specialised treatment.

Subsequently, she was being taken to the Bichhiya CHC in an autorickshaw. However, before she could reach the hospital, she delivered four babies inside the moving three-wheeler. Dr Mohanty said the quadruplets; three girls and one boy, were born prematurely, and each of them weighed close to 1.5 kilograms.

All four newborns, however, died shortly after birth due to complications linked to premature delivery and incomplete physical development. The CMHO added that Rajni has been admitted to the Bichhiya CHC, where her condition is said to be stable and out of danger.

Family alleges ambulance never reached

Rajni’s family has blamed the deaths of the babies on the failure of the emergency ambulance service to respond in time. They said they contacted the ambulance service immediately after she went into labour, but no vehicle arrived. Left with no alternative, they hired an autorickshaw to transport her to the CHC.

Her husband, Ganesh Singaram, claimed that the newborns may have survived had an ambulance arrived without delay.

Administration says no complaint received

Responding to the incident and the allegations stemming from it, Mandla District Magistrate (DM) Rahul Namdev Dhote said the administration had not yet received any complaint in this regard. He said if a complaint is received, the case shall be probed thoroughly and action shall follow on the basis of the findings.