Whimper in the end

The newborn baby who was pronounced dead at a private hospital in Chittagong city on Tuesday, even though it was alive, has finally lost her battle for life.

Around 1:30pm yesterday, the baby girl was declared dead by doctors at Max Hospital where she was undergoing treatment.

A medical board led by Basu Bandhu Barua, a consultant of child health at Max Hospital, confirmed the newborn's death.

The baby's parents, both of whom are doctors themselves, and relatives accused the doctors and staff at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of Centre for Specialised Care and Research (CSCR) of negligence of duty.

The mother, Ridwana Kawsar, tried her best to save the premature baby who was declared dead two hours after its birth at CSCR Hospital early Tuesday.

She said that after the baby was born, a gynaecology consultant asked the on-duty doctors to take it to the NICU.

But two hours later, the on-duty NICU doctors declared the baby dead and sent it to her cabin in a packet along with a death certificate, Ridwana said.

Upon opening the packet, she noticed movement of the baby and requested the on-duty doctors to examine it and take it to NICU, but the doctors refused to do so saying the baby was dead.

Ridwana, an assistant dental surgeon of Alikadam Upazila Health Complex in Bandarban, rushed her baby to another private hospital and put her in an incubator. Then she took her to Max Hospital.

But the mother's 33-hour struggle to save her baby ended in grief.

Around 3:00pm yesterday, she was seen coming out of the Max Hospital, holding her baby's body wrapped in a shroud. It was the couple's first child.

 Her husband Nurul Azam, a medical officer of Cox's Bazar Sadar Hospital, was also there. Both Nurul and Ridwana refused to say anything to reporters at that time.

But their relatives demanded exemplary punishment for the NICU doctors and staff of CSCR Hospital.

Talking to The Daily Star, Rafid Siddique, Ridwana's brother, said, “She [the baby] could have been saved, if she had been given proper treatment in the two hours after her birth at CSCR Hospital.”

Asked if they would take any legal action, he said they would think about it.

Chittagong Civil Surgeon Azizur Rahman Siddique visited Max Hospital yesterday.

 Asked what steps they would take regarding the alleged negligence of the CSCR doctors, he said the Directorate General of Health Services took the matter very seriously.

A three-member probe committee had been formed to investigate the matter and the committee was asked to submit a report within three working days, he said.

“We would not tolerate such negligence,” he added.

 Azizur Rahman also suggested that the ministry of health formulate guidelines on the circumstances under which a newborn can be declared clinically dead.

To prevent such incidents from happening again, he suggested keeping provision for strict punishment for violating the guidelines.

CSCR hospital's Managing Director Jamal Ahmed could not be contacted despite repeated attempts over phone. He did not pick up his phone.

Meanwhile, child specialists in the port city said doctors should be more cautious about dealing with such cases.

Pranab Kumar Chowdhury, head of child health department at Chittagong Medical College, said it was difficult for a premature baby, weighing below 750 grammes, to survive.

He also said that doctors should be more cautious about declaring a newborn dead.

Nasir Uddin Mahmud, an associate professor of child health department at CMC, said premature babies, born underweight, sometimes apparently seem to be dead. “But when stimulation is given, breathing and heartbeat of the baby may revive in some cases.”

 “I think there was a lack of care and attention on the part of the on-duty doctors at the private hospital,” he said.

“Doctors should be more responsible and careful in dealing with such cases to avoid this sort of incident in future,” Nasir added.