4 Newborn Babies Die In Hospital Within 2 Days; Officials Deny Wrongdoing

A probe has been launched into the deaths of four newborn babies, who all died in the last two days at a government hospital in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh, health officials said.

A team of senior doctors has been sent to the Government Medical College Affiliated Hospital (GMCH) in Surguja district’s capital of Ambikapur following the death of one newborn at the facility Friday and three more babies the next day, the Hindustan Times reported, citing Chhattisgarh health secretary Alok Shukla.

One of the babies died at the pediatric ward, while the three newborns passed at the hospital's special neonatal care unit, a report by CNN-News18 said. The four were between the ages of 4 days and 28 days old, according to the outlet.

The hospital has maintained that there was nothing "unusual" about the deaths and that the infants died due to birth-related complications.

"[The newborns] were referred to the hospital from different district hospitals of the region," GMCH superintendent Dr. Lakhan Singh said in a statement to the Hindustan Times, adding that two of the babies were suffering from birth asphyxia and the other two were underweight.

Asphyxia is one of the most common causes of death among newborns, Singh noted.

A three-member team from the medical college will look into the deaths, according to the hospital official.

Chhattisgarh Urban Administration and Development Minister Shivkumar Dahariya, the minister-in-charge in Surguja district, has left for Ambikapur to chair a meeting of officials following the accusations of medical negligence on the part of hospital staff.

"On the direction of chief minister Bhupesh Baghel, Dahariya has left for Ambikapur where he has called an emergency meeting of the district collector, chief medical and health officer (CMHO) and superintendent of the medical college," a statement issued by the public relations department said.

The parents of one of the infants "created a ruckus" in the hospital and accused staff of negligence, according to a doctor. Other parents reportedly joined the two before being informed of their children's conditions and complications.

State health minister T.S. Singh Deo, for his part, has left his tour in Delhi midway to return to Chhattisgarh, according to a release issued by staff. He reportedly directed a special team from the health departments of Raipur and Bilaspur to be sent to Ambikapur.