Delhi woman dies during childbirth at home, midwife arrested

NEW DELHI: Hiring a midwife to deliver a child at home to save on hospital expenses turned into a costly proposition for Dhanraj. Though the child survived, his wife, Reena, died in the process.
Dhanraj had married Reena, a widow with two daughters aged nine and six, against the wishes of his family and shifted to Dheerpur Colony in northwest Delhi in 2017. When Reena became pregnant, a midwife in the JJ colony convinced Dhanraj that she would help deliver the child at half the cost. However, she gave up on Reena after complications developed in the process and fled leaving the couple to fend for themselves. Before Dhanraj could take Reena to a hospital, she had died.

The midwife, Chandni, was arrested on Thursday.

The man has since been taking care of his newborn son and Reena’s daughters all by himself. “We were expecting our third child in February and were consulting a doctor at a government hospital. However, Chandni approached us and offered her services. Initially I was reluctant, but she and a few other midwives insisted that we avail her services. I thought it was a wise decision since we stay in the neighbourhood,” said Dhanraj.

Reena had faced some complications even during the birth of her daughters and had to undergo surgery. “I had mentioned this to the midwife, but she didn’t pay any heed to it,” said Dhanraj.

A day before the delivery, Chandni took Reena to her house. On February 5, a few hours before the delivery, she injected 12 vials of a medicine into different parts of Reena’s body due to which she could not move. Both Dhanraj and his mother-in-law tried to convince the midwife to allow them to take Reena to a hospital, but she refused. However, after Reena’s condition deteriorated she fled from her house. The family found Reena alone and rushed her to Bara Hindu Rao Hospital where she was declared dead.

A case was registered at Mukherjee Nagar police station and a manhunt was launched to nab Chandni. She has been charged with causing death due to negligence (IPC 304A). Police are looking for other midwives suspected of running illegal operations in the JJ colony.