A 27 -year-old woman died of a postpartum haemorrhage after a botched home delivery by her husband in Puliampatty village in Bargur, Krishnagiri district. The deceased woman, V. Loganayaki died of a haemorrhage from a retained placenta, hours after delivering a baby boy at her maternal home on Tuesday, August 22, 2023.
Loganayaki went into labour early on Tuesday morning and delivered a baby boy around 4 a.m. However her placenta was retained inside her body, causing a haemorrhage, and the bleeding continued up to 10.30 a.m. The family then moved her to a private hospital in Bargur, where she was declared brought dead, according to the FIR filed by the Bargur police based on a complaint by M. Radhika, Medical Officer, Puliampatty Government Primary Health Centre.
The Village Health Nurse of Puliampatty was alerted to the condition of the woman by a tea stall owner, where Loganayaki’s father had gone to fetch tea for the family. “The family had tried to remove the placenta, leading to several hours of bleeding from 4.30 a.m. The family then moved her to a private hospital at 10.30 a.m. The family was preparing to move the body back to Dharmapuri, without a postmortem examination, until we intervened. The entire village was justifying their decision about a home delivery,” says Dr. Radhika.
Loganayaki and her husband D. Madesh, both holders of postgraduate degrees in social work, were aficionados in organic farming and eating healthy. They moved from Madesh’s home village of Hanumanthapuram in Palacodde in Dharmapuri to Bargur in Krishnagiri, to her maternal home, for the delivery. They had jointly decided on a home delivery, refusing medical care, according to Dr. Radhika. “The village residents say she refused to take iron tablets and urged everybody to stick to leafy vegetables instead of medicines.”
The couple purportedly followed a YouTube link for the delivery, according to the Health Department.
Dr. Ramesh Kumar, Deputy Director of Health, Krishnagiri, said Madesh took the newborn back to his village in Hanumanthapuram in Dharmapuri refusing vaccinations for the baby. “We have alerted the PHC there. He also refused to provide information on the link that they followed for assistance,” says Dr. Ramesh Kumar. Madesh, overcome with grief, had also injured his head by banging it against the wall and and is currently undergoing treatment at a hospital.
When contacted, the Deputy Director of Health, Dharmapuri, Dr. Jayanthi said, the local VHN of Hanumanthapuram was following up on the case. Loganayaki was given iron tablets and a diet chart. But they left the village for delivery at her parents’ home to avoid tracking, she claimed.
Even as the FIR registered mentions unnatural death invoking Section 174 of the Code of Criminal Prcodure, Krishnagiri Collector K.M. Sarayu has ordered action against the family members. An Revenue Divisional Officer’s inquiry will be carried out, since the couple had been married for only two years. “We have informed the Health Secretary and action will follow,” the Collector said.
