Newborn dies after being dragged for meters in Chinese hospital

A newborn baby died after dragged for a dozen meters by its attached umbilical cord while the mother was being pushed in a wheelchair by a nurse, the hospital confirmed Friday.

The baby girl was born in the hallway of the hospital on Jan. 2 while the mother, surnamed Shang, was being moved to receive a cesarean at the doctor's insistence, hospital managers with the Women and Children Medical Care Center of Luoyang City, central China's Henan Province, told Xinhua.

Camera surveillance showed the baby hit the ground head-down and was dragged for more than 10 meters before the nurse saw the baby and picked her up.

The left side of the baby's head was swollen with what doctors thought was intracranial hematomas and died later despite medical efforts.

The doctor strongly recommended the cesarean because Shang had already given birth to their first child 15 years ago in the same manner.

The father, surnamed Pan, said Shang's water broke on the evening of Jan. 1 after seven months' pregnancy, but the doctor on the night shift of the hospital advised natural labor after examination that day.

Pan said the baby's death was caused by the falling and dragging and requested a compensation of 200,000 yuan (32,000 U.S. dollars), but the hospital, which admitted their negligence and apologized, only agreed to offer 5,000 yuan.

Local media reported the case on Friday, and the city health department has launched an investigation whether the hospital should be responsible for the baby's death. Endi