Relying on YouTube videos, Kerala man refuses to take pregnant wife to hospital, she dies during childbirth

According to health workers, Shemeera Beevi, who had had three caesarean deliveries in the past, developed labour pain on Tuesday afternoon, and around 5.30 pm, started bleeding profusely. At this stage, Nayas’s first wife, who had been staying at their house for the last two weeks, tried playing the role of a birth attendant, but couldn’t, police said. When Shemeera went into a coma, Nayas got an ambulance and rushed her to a private hospital, where the mother and newborn were declared dead.

Thiruvananthapuram municipal corporation councillor U Deepika said Nayas was against giving modern treatment to his wife. “When ASHA workers approached the family, Nayas did not allow them to meet the woman. He claimed that home birth was possible with the help of YouTube videos. The woman had three deliveries in the past, all caesarean. Hence, we had told them that normal delivery was not possible. But Nayas did not allow his wife to take institutional care… The woman was keen to take hospital care, but she was afraid of her husband. He had threatened to abandon her if she did not abide by his decision,” said the councillor.

Health Minister Veena George told the media that what has happened is a serious crime. “When she was pregnant, a doctor from the district medical office had visited them, insisting on institutional care. But the couple were following acupuncture treatment. The mother and child were consigned to death by the husband. The incident is shocking and an act of murder. It should not have happened in Kerala, where people are keen to seek healthcare,” she said.