Kerala woman, new-born die after home birth using acupuncture goes wrong

Mangalore Today News Network/News18

Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 21, 2024: In an unfortunate incident, from Kerala’s Karakkamandapam area, a 36-year-old woman and her new-born child died after the delivery of the baby was attempted using acupuncture treatment at their rented house on Tuesday evening.

 

The woman’s husband Nayaz, who worked as a sound system worker and was from Poonthura was taken into custody by the Nemom police on Wednesday morning, as soon as they received information about the incident.

A case of unnatural death was registered in this case and the police informed that it was the fourth delivery of the deceased woman, identified as Shemeera Beevi. According to the officials, she had never consulted a doctor in the past nine months of her pregnancy period.

The couple allegedly sought the help of an acupuncturist instead of a medical doctor and the practitioner used to visit their rented house, a police officer said.

On Tuesday, the woman developed some complications and she was finally taken to a private hospital in the evening where the doctors declared her and the baby dead on arrival.

As news about the death of the woman and the new-born emerged, the local Councillor, ASHA workers and neighbours came out against Nayaz accusing him of not allowing his wife to consult a doctor and seeking proper medical treatment.

Taking note of the incident, Ward Councillor Deepika said that the woman’s husband had not allowed ASHA workers to enter their house or talk to her.

She further said, “The family was not ready to permit us to enter their house or share any other details. One day, we somehow managed to enter the house and spoke to her. Then we came to know that it was her fourth pregnancy.”

As per the details shared by the deceased woman then, all the past deliveries were through C-section and the last one was just one year ago.

”So, there was no chance for a normal delivery in her case. She was scared to talk to us even if we called her over phone. Nayas said he wanted a normal delivery and insulted the entire medical system in the state,” the Councillor added.

While talking to the media, Deepika further alleged that the husband had claimed that they were planning to have normal delivery by taking lessons from YouTube.

An elderly woman from the neighbourhood also raised serious charges against the husband and accused him of denying treatment to Shemeera.

”She was not allowed to talk to us. She never came out of home alone. When we advised him to give proper treatment to the pregnant woman, he said it was his wife and there was no need for others to worry about her health,” the woman said.

As per police, the interrogation of the husband is currently underway and other action would be taken after collecting details.