Woman in labor jumps to death
A pregnant woman and her unborn child died after she jumped from the fifth floor of a hospital in Yulin, Northwest China's Shaanxi Province during childbirth Thursday, with the hospital and family clashing over what led to her death.
The First Hospital of Yulin claimed on its Sina Weibo account on Sunday that the woman surnamed Ma jumped out of a window while "mentally out of control" from the pain she was experiencing during labor.
The hospital said that both Ma and the hospital had suggested to perform a cesarean operation many times, but her family refused to permit it, according to the hospital's Sina Weibo post.
The hospital also mentioned that "the leading cause of Ma's death has nothing to do with the hospital's management and medical operation."
A screenshot of an agreement shows that Ma's family agreed on delivery through natural labor instead of cesarean even if Ma's condition was not suitable for natural labor, a Sina Weibo post by the Chinese Business View said, adding that Ma's death has been confirmed by local police as suicide.
Ma's suicide has triggered heated online discussion, with most netizens accusing the family of being cruel and indifferent to Ma's request.
However, Ma's family completely denies the hospital's claim, with her husband surnamed Yan giving a different version of events Sunday. Yan was quoted by the Beijing Youth Daily as saying that the family demanded a cesarean but the hospital refused to perform one, the Beijing Youth Daily reported on Tuesday. "My wife twice came out from labor saying 'it is too painful to tolerate,' so I told the doctor to do a cesarean, but the doctor said that there was no need for a cesarean as my wife is safe and the baby was coming out," said Yan, according to the report.
Whether Ma was given pain killers during labor is not known as of press time. Pregnant women should have their own right to decide the method of childbirth, Wang Yu, an obstetrician and gynecologist from the Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University in Shenyang, Northeast China's Liaoning Province, told the Global Times on Tuesday.
However, the hospital should take responsibility and Ma would not have a chance to jump out of the window if she was being taken care of by nurses and doctors, said Wang.
Yan claimed that he and the family had no idea what actually happened in the natuary room during the 11 hours of Ma's labor and the hospital sent Ma's body directly into a morgue without negotiation with them, according to the report.
The hospital claimed on Tuesday night that the surveillance video shows Ma going out of the natuary room to beg her husband and family to let her do a cesarean but still got rejected, the Modern Express reported.
"The surveillance video shows that the woman even kneeled down to beg her husband and family, which made us feel so heartbreaking," said a spokesperson from the hospital. At the same time, Yan posted an announcement on his WeChat acknowledging that he signed an agreement with the hospital to let Ma give birth by natural labor but still insisting that the family required cesarean but it was rejected by the hospital.
