We can do most things ourselves and learn them online, but some things are best left to professionals!
A 26-year-old unmarried pregnant woman and her baby recently died after the mother attempted to self-deliver the child by watching YouTube videos on how to deliver babies.
This incident took place in the city of Gorakhpur, India on Sunday night (10 March), said Cantonment police station house officer Ravi Rai. The possible reason for her self-delivery attempt was due to “fear of social stigma attached to being an unmarried mother”, as reported in Hindustan Times.
For illustration purposes only | Source: Life With Elizabeth Rose
The incident was first discovered by the woman’s neighbours. Neighbours immediately reported this to her landlord after seeing blood flowing out of her room on Monday morning (11 March).
“Her landlord Ravi Upadhyay broke open the door and found the woman and a newborn baby boy lying dead. He immediately informed the police, who reached the site and sent the body for post-mortem. Her smart phone revealed that she was watching “how to deliver baby by self” and other similar safe delivery processes on YouTube,” Rai said.
For illustration purposes only | Source: Digital Trends
He also added that a pair of scissors, a blade and some thread were found around the woman’s body at the home.
Apparently, the woman had been living in Gorakhpur for the past four years, as reported in Independent UK.
The woman who is a native of Bahraich had actually rented the accommodation four days back. After notifying her relatives about her death, Rai was informed by them that she was indeed unmarried.
Her landlord said, “The woman approached me just four days back and told me that her mother would be coming soon to assist her delivery in hospital. After verifying her details through Aadhaar card (identification card given to resident in India), I rented the room to her.”
Rai also added that the woman’s post-mortem was later handed over to her family members. Surprisingly, they refused to lodge first-information report (FIR) against anybody relating to the incident.
Independent UK further added that unmarried women in India would often face embarrassment and social exclusion for being pregnant and thus, feel unable to seek help from doctors as they fear of exposure in the conservative country.
Yikes! Let this be a reminder that it’s best to seek professional medical help especially when life and death is at stake!
Also read: Drunk Nurse Accidentally Decapitates Baby’s Head & Leaves It in Mother’s Womb
