Baby girl mistakenly declared ‘dead’ dies after a day of survival

A baby girl mistakenly declared dead by a doctor at Dhaka Medical College Hospital or DMCH, when she was alive, passed away on Tuesday morning after a day of survival.

Director of Dhaka Shishu Hospital Professor MA Aziz who treated the baby at the Intensive Care Unit or ICU, declared the baby dead at around 1.30 am on Tuesday.

Deputy Director of Shishu Hospital Abu Tayab told bdnews24.com on the previous day the baby was still in danger and they had arranged artificial respiration for her as the best possible measure to get her cured.

However, the baby could not be saved.

Minhaj Uddin, the baby’s father, works in a Savar garment factory. Her mother, Sharmin Akter, is still under treatment at the DMCH.

Sub-Inspector Md Bachchu Miah at the DMCH police camp said Sharmin got admitted to the DMCH Gynaecology Department on Saturday morning.

He said the duty doctor declared that baby stillborn as she gave birth on Monday morning.

The baby was taken to Azimpur Graveyard for burial, but Dhaka South City Corporation worker Jesmine Begum discovered that the baby was moving when she was giving it a bath before the burial.

The family left swiftly with the baby for Dhaka Shishu Hospital where the doctors immediately admitted her to the ICU.

The mother was suffering from anaemia and gave birth to the baby seven months into pregnancy.

Doctors might have thought the baby was dead as her heart was not working in the morning. Her heart started working a bit again when she was taken to the graveyard.

The DMCH has formed a four-member committee headed by Assistant Director Bidyut Kanti Paul to investigate the incident.

“We are investigating whether this is the same baby. We will run DNA tests if necessary,” said Brigadier General AKM Nasir Uddin, director of the hospital.