A doctor is being investigated after a horrified dad told cops how he was watching as his baby girl's head was pulled clean off during childbirth.
The family said the girl was alive as she started to emerge and that after the horrifying incident, the hospital tried to pressure them into signing documents that would hide the matter.
The shocking incident reportedly took place at the Hospital das Clinicas da UFMG, in the Santa Efigenia neighbourhood of Belo Horizonte, the capital of south-eastern Brazil's state of Minas Gerais on Monday, May 1.
The baby's mother, named as Ranielly Coelho Santos, 33, filed a complaint with the police two days later, with the incident making headlines in Brazil on Sunday.
Ranielly, who already has a nine-year-old daughter, was hospitalised on April 24, 28 weeks into her pregnancy, with labour then being induced on May 1.
During the birth, the obstetrician, who has not been named, reportedly called the girl's father, who was watching the procedure, to observe closely.
He even saw his daughter blinking and moving her mouth, which he said was proof the girl was alive and well.
But then, according to the family's report to the police, the doctor put pressure on the mother's belly and at the same time tried to remove the baby's body quickly, and "ripped off the child's head", according to the horrified dad.
The police report also said the family was later approached by a social worker at the hospital who said the facility would bear all the costs for the baby's burial.
But the offer was reportedly only valid if they agreed to sign documents stating that "the autopsy had already been performed at the hospital", that "the child's body had already been examined", and that "the body would not be forwarded to the Legal Medical Institute (IML)" for further analysis.
They refused to sign the paperwork and later filed a complaint with the police, with the baby's remains then being examined at the IML, according to Jennifer Valente, reportedly the family's lawyer.
The hospital reportedly declined to comment to local media and the result of the autopsy has not been made public. The police investigation is ongoing.
The baby's body is set to be released to the family today so that it may be buried.
