Kerala Woman Dies After Husband Lets Acupuncturist Deliver Baby: Cops

A 36-year-old Kerala woman died while giving birth after her husband refused to take her to a hospital and let an acupuncturist attempt a delivery at their Thiruvananthapuram home on Tuesday, police said.

Shameera Biwi died of excessive bleeding after her husband Nayas, a sound system worker, insisted she deliver their fourth baby at home. Police have arrested Nayas and registered a case of unnatural death.

The couple's neighbours had complained to the local health workers seeking assistance to take the woman to a hospital but Nayas did not allow them to enter the house. Health workers said they managed to talk to Shameera once who told them that her husband constantly insulted modern medicine.

Nayas also claimed to have watched YouTube videos to perform a normal delivery at home, Ward Councillor Deepika told news agency PTI.

Shameera went into labour on Tuesday and developed complications. She was finally taken to a hospital in the evening where she and the baby were declared brought dead.

She was not allowed to see a doctor during all nine months of her pregnancy even though all her three children were delivered through C-section, health workers said. Shihab, a man who ran an acupuncture clinic nearby, was the only person allowed to treat her.

Police is also investigating the role of Nayas' daughter, from his first wife, who was reportedly studying acupuncture.