Damoh: Four women who gave birth to healthy babies on the same day at the district hospital at Damoh in Madhya Pradesh have died over the last three weeks, prompting an inquiry.
After one of the women died at the Jabalpur Medical College and Hospital during treatment on Wednesday, her family members protested, bringing all four cases to the fore.
Lakshmi Chaurasia (29), Harshna Kori (30), Nisha Parveen (28) and Huma Khan (30) were admitted to the district hospital here for delivery on July 4, officials said.
Ms Chaurasia's relatives claimed that the doctors had said she would have a normal delivery, but at the eleventh hour they opted for a caesarean section.
After giving birth, she complained of severe pain in the stomach and died at night on July 4, said her husband Sachin, accusing the hospital staff of negligence.
Harshna Kori was admitted to the ICU of the hospital after a normal delivery and died the next morning, on July 5, her family members said.
Nisha Parveen gave birth to a child through a C-section procedure. "We distributed sweets, but after a couple of hours she complained that she could not pass urine," a relative said.
"The doctors told us that her kidneys had failed. She was taken to the Jabalpur Medical College and Hospital and put on dialysis. She died there two days ago," he said.
Huma Khan too underwent a caesarean surgery and gave birth to a healthy child, but after some time she complained of not being able to pass urine and was rushed to the Jabalpur hospital and put on dialysis. She died on Wednesday, her family members said.
Ms Khan's family members blocked a road in Hata area here on Wednesday, seeking an inquiry into her death.
Damoh district collector Sudhir Kochar told PTI that the matter was being taken seriously.
"It is all the more serious, given that the health of the deceased women was good (prior to the delivery) as reported," he said, adding that he has ordered an inquiry by a Joint Director of Health Services.
Civil surgeon Dr Rajesh Namdeo said that on July 4, fifteen emergency operations were performed by different doctors.
Two of the women died of kidney infection in Jabalpur, Dr Namdeo said, adding that two teams of doctors from the government-run Sagar Medical College and Hospital carried out an inquiry, but it did not point to the medical officers' negligence.
Another inquiry is underway, and if anyone is found guilty, the person will face strict action, he added.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)