KRISHNAGIRI: A six-day-old female baby allegedly died of choking while being breastfed by her mother in the Bargur government hospital in the wee hours of Wednesday. Health officials, however, suspect it could be a case of female infanticide. This is the third such incident in a government hospital in the district since August last year.
According to sources, the 23- year- old woman from Bargur was admitted in the hospital on March 16 and delivered a baby girl the next day through C-section. She already has a two and a- half- year-old girl child. Around 5 am on Wednesday, relatives of the woman complained to the duty doctor that the baby was not responding after being breastfed around 4 am. Suspecting that she could have suffered aspiration, the doctor examined the baby and declared her dead.
“We suspect foul play in the death, and have informed higher officials in the health department, The body will be sent for autopsy,” an official from the hospital told TNIE. Subsequently, the baby’s father has lodged a complaint in Bargur police station. Later in the day, the body was sent to Government Krishnagiri Medical College Hospital for autopsy.
A duty doctor in the Bargur hospital said the baby was in good health when she checked her around 11 pm on Tuesday and 2 am on Wednesday. Joint Director of Health Services P Paramasivan told that action will be taken after the post-mortem report is received.
It may be recalled that in August the day-old female baby, the third child of a couple from Kelamangalam, died in similar circumstances at the Hosur government hospital. In another incident, a female baby died within 12 hours of birth at Shoolagiri UPHC in October.
Paramasivan said they are yet to receive the autopsy reports in the two cases. Deputy Director of Health Services G Ramesh Kumar said he would inquire into the deaths. Collector Deepak Jacob, who assumed office last month, was unaware of the two deaths. “The Bargur death could be a case of infant mortality. The health department will check and work against female infanticide,” he said.
