Hospital blamed for mother's death

The family of a woman who died in the operating theater just hours after giving birth have accused a maternity hospital in Xiangtan County, Hunan Province, of medical negligence.

　　Hospital blamed for mother's death

Relatives of the woman, surnamed Zhang, are demanding 1.2 million yuan (US$195,000) in compensation, but the hospital has denied liability and refused to pay, The Beijing News reported yesterday.

The county health bureau said in a statement yesterday that the case is under investigation.

Zhang was taken to the hospital's emergency department at 6:10am on Sunday, where she was diagnosed with a premature rupture of the amniotic sac holding her unborn child and fetal macrosomia — a term used to describe a much larger than average baby — the statement said.

Doctors advised Zhang to undergo a cesarean section, but the woman wanted to give birth naturally, the statement said.

When attempts at a natural delivery failed, Zhang agreed to the C-section, which was carried out at 11:30am and a baby boy was born 35 minutes later, it said.

Immediately after the birth, however, Zhang began vomiting and her body went into spasm. Doctors quickly diagnosed an amniotic fluid embolism — a potentially fatal condition in which amniotic fluid enters the mother's blood stream — and contacted specialists from within the hospital and externally to help save her, the statement said.

At 3pm, experts from the Central Hospital of Xiangtan City confirmed the diagnosis and recommended Zhang undergo an emergency hysterectomy.

Zhang's husband, identified as Liu, said the relatives were told that his wife was suffering from massive bleeding half an hour after the baby was born and that a nurse asked him at 5pm to sign a consent form for the operation to remove Zhang's womb.

The hysterectomy was performed about 15 minutes later, according to a report on medical website dxy.cn.

Despite undergoing the procedure, Zhang died at 9:30pm after experiencing multiple organ failure as a result of the amniotic fluid embolism, the health bureau's statement said.

According to The Beijing News report, the woman's relatives said they had no idea how the operation was going until being told, sometime after 9pm, that Zhang was dead.

At one point, Liu knocked on the door of the operating room but was told the operation was still under way, the report said.

At 11pm, the relatives knocked on the door again, but nobody answered.

Liu forced opened the door to find his wife lying dead on the operating table. No one else was in the room, the report said.

Family members claimed they had not been told that Zhang had died, but the hospital said that when an official tried to speak to them outside the operating room he was physically attacked.

Qi Xianqiang, deputy director of the health bureau, said an investigation was under way and that an autopsy would be carried out to determine the exact cause of death.

The hospital and family have already been through four rounds of mediation but have yet to reach agreement on compensation.

Authorities advised the family to pursue legal action, for which financial aid will be provided if required, Qi said.