Doctor Allegedly 'Ripped Off' Infant's Head During Childbirth As Horrified Father Watched

A newborn baby's head was reportedly ripped off during childbirth by a doctor in Brazil.

The infant's father told police he witnessed his child's gruesome death, which is currently being investigated by local police.

The deceased infant's mother, Ranielly Coelho Santos, 33, was hospitalized on April 28 at the Hospital das Clinicas da UFMG in Belo Horizonte, the capital of Minas Gerais state.

Santos, the mother of a 9-year-old girl, underwent induced labor in the lead-up to the child's birth on May 1, according to the New York Post.

An unidentified doctor reportedly called the infant's father to take a closer look at his child being born. The doctor then placed some pressure on the mother's belly before trying to bring the infant's body out quickly.

The accused obstetrician then allegedly "ripped off the child's head," the father later told police.

The bereaved father also told investigators that he is sure his baby was initially alive because she was blinking and moving her mouth before her head was allegedly ripped off.

The infant's family, hailing from Ribeirao das Neves, went to the police and filed a complaint, which mentioned their exchanges with the hospital following the infant's tragic death.

A social worker from the hospital told the family that they would cover burial costs for the infant if they agreed to sign a waiver, according to the family's complaint.

The waiver said the child's autopsy "had already been performed" and that it "would not be forwarded to the Legal Medical Institute (IML)" for further analysis, the family added.

The family refused to sign the waiver, according to the family's lawyer Jennifer Valente. They also demanded an autopsy to be performed by IML to determine the exact cause of the infant's death, the lawyer added.

The incident continues to be investigated.

A similar incident was reported last year after a child's head was reportedly decapitated during a birth in Pakistan's Sindh region. The infant's head was severed after getting stuck in the mother's womb. Doctors then reportedly performed a procedure to deliver the baby's torso before the woman was shifted to another hospital to remove the infant's head, which was still in the abdomen.