HIV-infected woman claims discrimination in child's death

A local hospital in southwestern Sichuan province was accused of causing the death of an unborn baby on Tuesday after refusing to give a cesarean operation to an HIV-infected mother.

The woman's husband, Jibu Baofu, said that the hospital discriminated against his HIV-infected wife by refusing to give cesarean section even when she underwent a difficult labor for three days.

However the Aiying hospital in Yuexi county, which claimed to have treated over 20 HIV-infected pregnant women last year, denied Jibu's accusations.

"The hospital insisted on the natural birth method, saying that many HIV-infected pregnant women did it this way but the bulletin board in the hospital reads HIV-infected women should receive a C-section. It seems they feared getting infected during the operation," Jibu said. Jibu said the hospital's excuse for not conducting the emergency operation was "unbelievable."

The dean of the hospital surnamed Xiong told the Global Times that what Jibu said was inaccurate and the baby's death was caused by fetal asphyxia.

Xiong added that Jibu signed an agreement on January 23, the day his wife was sent to the hospital, explaining that only medical care for natural labor could be offered due to limited conditions.

"We gave them a thorough examination in the next two days and once we found something wrong with the fetus we noticed the family. It was their decision to transfer to another hospital with better conditions," Xiong said.

Jibu said that the hospital forced them to transfer to another hospital once doctors confirmed the death of the fetus.

The hospital offered free treatment for HIV-infected women and a 500 yuan ($256) subsidy to the family, Xiong said.

The Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, where the hospital is located, is close to what is considered the "golden triangle" of the illegal drug trade in Yunnan Province. The local government said 55,246 people in the prefecture were infected with HIV in 2013 and authorities have been providing treatment for HIV-infected pregnant women, to lower the infection rate in unborn babies.