A pregnant woman took her own life because her family would not let her have a caesarean section even when doctors recommended the procedure.
The 26-year-old woman surnamed Ma was admitted to the maternity ward of Yulin No 1 Hospital in Shaanxi Province, northern China, last Wednesday. It was found out at the hospital that the baby’s head was big and it was Ma’s first birth so the doctors recommended the Caesarean Section.
Caesarean section, also known as C-section or caesarean delivery, is the use of surgery to deliver one or more babies.
“Initial diagnosis found that Ma was over 41 weeks pregnant with her first child,” said a statement issued by the hospital.
“The large fetal head circumference meant that vaginal delivery would have been very risky.”
Doctors had suggested that delivery by caesarean section would be safer for Ma following the examination, but her family insisted on a natural birth.
Under Chinese law family members have to give permission before medical staff carries out surgery.
Hospital records state that at 5.50pm last Thursday, staff told the family of the requirements for a caesarean delivery, China Business News reported.
Medical staff tried in vain to convince the family of the need for the procedure.
The family, whose precise relationship to the woman was not disclosed, understood and refused surgery, preferring to continue monitoring the situation.
“The pregnant woman twice walked out of the ward to tell her family that she wanted a cesarean because she could no longer bear the pain, but the family continued to insist on a natural delivery,” according to the records.
It was not explained why they denied her request.
Staff managed to persuade her to return to the ward and again tried to convince the family to let her have a C-section, but they still refused.
Ma fell from a fifth-floor window in the hospital’s maternity ward and died along with the fetus.
Police told reporters that after investigating the incident, they believed it was a suicide.
South China Morning Post
