80 newborn deaths at Madhya Pradesh hospital in six months, BJP MLA calls for probe

At least 80 infants have died at the Special Newborn Care Unit (SNCU) of the district hospital in Madhya Pradesh’s Seoni over a six-month period, with the local BJP MLA calling for an investigation into the mortalities.

While hospital authorities have attributed the deaths to premature births, low-birth weight and complications among critically ill infants, BJP MLA Dinesh Rai Munmun on Tuesday alleged that doctors were unavailable at night to attend to the patients.

Civil Surgeon Dr Vinod Kumar Navkar said the SNCU receives critically ill newborns referred from remote rural areas across the district.

“Many a times, these babies are born at six, seven or eight months. They have complications and require specialised care,” Navkar said.

He said the risk of death was particularly high among premature and low-birth-weight infants.

“According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and Government of India data, a baby’s normal birth weight should be 2.5 kg. When a baby is born prematurely and weighs less than this, the mortality rate can be as high as 48 per cent,” he said.

Navkar also cited complications during labour and delivery.

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Navkar said the district hospital had treated 1,188 newborns over the preceding six months, of whom 642 – more than half – had a birth weight below normal. He said 582 infants with substantially low birth weight had received treatment, including babies weighing 1,100 grams, 900 grams and even 500 grams.

Hospital officials said approximately 34 deaths took place between April and June, followed by 46 deaths between July and September.

Defending the hospital’s performance, Navkar said the neonatal mortality rate at the SNCU was below 7.5 per cent and lower than that of other districts in the Jabalpur division. He referred to 10% as a recommended mortality benchmark for neonatal units.

Navkar also flagged the need for greater support from the paediatrics department of the medical college attached to the district hospital. He said the hospital had sought assistance from the department but the required duty arrangements had not been made.

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The hospital’s explanation comes amid allegations by families that their newborns did not receive adequate or timely treatment.

Manish Warkade, a resident of Dungariya village in Barghat block, alleged that his wife did not receive timely attention after being admitted to the hospital in July. He said, “She (his wife) had been referred from Barghat to Seoni. The newborn died after being admitted to the SNCU.”

Sanjay Uikey, a resident of Jawarkathi, said his wife was referred to Seoni after developing complications during pregnancy. The baby was born in the seventh month and weighed around 1.6 kg, he said. Doctors told the family that the newborn’s heartbeat was weak. “After several days in the SNCU, the baby was shifted to another machine and died a few hours later,” Uikey said.

Rai told The Indian Express that he decided to conduct a surprise inspection after receiving complaints about doctors’ absence, allegations of demands for money from the patients, and a high number of infant deaths.

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Rai said when he arrived at the hospital, the outsourced staff there initially attempted to stop him from entering the premises, telling him that a departmental inquiry was under way and an audit was being conducted.

According to Rai, no doctor was present at the time of his visit.

“Forty-six children died because of difficulty in breathing. The hospital has a ventilator for children who have difficulty breathing, and a doctor is supposed to be appointed for this. But the doctor does not remain there at night. The nurses are not trained for this work,” Rai alleged.

“Tell me, who goes to a district hospital? Poor people. If these children are dying because of doctors’ negligence, criminal action should be taken against those responsible,” he said.

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Rai also questioned the administration’s contention that the hospital’s infant mortality rate was lower than that of other districts. He argued that the recorded deaths might not reflect the full extent of the problem because critically ill newborns were being referred elsewhere.