Doctors ripped my baby’s head off during childbirth then tried to stitch it back hoping I wouldn’t notice, claims mum
A MUM has claimed that doctors ripped her baby’s head off during childbirth and tried to stitch it back on hoping she wouldn’t notice.
Heartbroken Ranielly Santos, 34, said she was “treated like an animal” in the delivery room at Hospital das Clinicas da UFMG in Brazil.
The mum says she has been unable to sleep since as she chillingly wakes up “thinking she is hearing her baby’s screams”.
She had been hospitalised while 28 weeks into her pregnancy due to high blood pressure before the traumatic labour unfolded in front of her husband and mother on May 1.
After being induced, her partner Victor da Silva alleged that a doctor instructed him to observe closely as their little girl entered the world.
The dad claims to have seen his daughter blinking and moving her mouth, suggesting it was proof she was alive and well.
The little girl, named Emanuelly, had earlier been diagnosed with a malformation in her lungs after imaging exams revealed the presence of cysts.
But even though there was a risk she would not survive after being born, her devastated dad insists her heart was beating during the birth.
The family claims everything seemed to be going well up until the little girl’s head began to emerge and tragedy struck.
They alleged that the unnamed doctor climbed onto Ranielly’s stomach while dually trying to pull the tot out.
The parents claimed that while the medic continued to put pressure on the mum’s belly, he then horrifically “ripped off the child’s head.”
Victor told local media: “They began pulling the child’s head with their hands, telling my wife to push, but she didn’t have any more strength.
“At the last moment they did this, a bunch of people came over and held her down, held me down.
“They gave her general anaesthesia, she passed out, the baby just came out, but she was already lifeless.”
After becoming hysterical, Victor says he was removed from the delivery room by security away from his unconscious wife.
When Ranielly eventually came to, she claims hospital staff brought her lifeless daughter over to her already dressed.
She explained: “I woke up, she said, ‘Are you awake, Mum? Let’s say goodbye to your daughter.’
“Then they brought her dressed, packaged. I am devastated. Every day, I cry. I can’t sleep.
“Every day, I think of my daughter. I wanted her no matter what. I knew she had little chance of survival, but I wanted her.”
Grief-stricken Ranielly, who also has a nine-year-old daughter, claimed her mother had challenged medics after noticing strange marks on Emanuelly’s neck.
She continued: “My mother saw the whole procedure.
“She opened the baby’s clothes, but they tried to interrupt my mother from opening the clothes, that’s when we saw that her neck was sewn, full of marks.
The traumatised mum reportedly hinted that bungling medics had tried to disguise their alleged deadly error.
They tried to interrupt my mother from opening the clothes, that’s when we saw that her neck was sewn, full of marks.
Ranielly Santos
“Even if it doesn’t bring her back, I hope what happened to me doesn’t happen to another mother,” she added.
“I was treated like an animal, nobody respected me. It’s very sad.”
The parents filed a complaint with the police two days after the harrowing birth, who are now investigating the case over possible manslaughter.
Ranielly and Victor alleged they had been approached by a social worker at the hospital in the Santa Efigenia neighbourhood who told them the facility would bear all the costs for the baby’s burial.
But the offer was reportedly only valid if they agreed to sign a document following strict conditions.
This included agreeing that “the autopsy had already been performed at the hospital”, that “the child’s body had already been examined” and that “the body would not be forwarded to the Legal Medical Institute (IML)” for further analysis.
The family refused to sign the paperwork and turned to the authorities, while their daughter’s remains were then examined at the IML, according to their lawyer Jennifer Valente.
She told reporters there was negligence on the part of the hospital and signs of “obstetric violence”.
The hospital told G1 in a statement: “The Hospital das Clínicas of the Federal University of Minas Gerais (HU-UFMG/Ebserh) deeply regrets the loss of the family of the patient RCS, on April 30. An internal administrative process was opened to verify the facts.
“At the time of the incident, the fetus was 30 weeks pregnant and the Fetal Medicine team had previously found malformations, including severe pulmonary malformations.
“During hospitalization, the pregnant woman progressed to a worsening of her clinical condition, with increased blood pressure and generalized edema. Due to the seriousness of the maternal condition and fetal inviability, the medical staff opted for induction of labor.
“The UFMG Hospital das Clínicas reaffirms that the team made every effort to guarantee the pregnant woman’s life and that it is committed to clarifying all the facts with transparency and agility.
“The hospital unit sympathizes with the family in this time of mourning and remains at the entire disposal of the family and the authorities.”
The baby’s body was set to be released to the family on Monday so that the little girl could be laid to rest.
The results of the autopsy have not been made public. The police investigation remains ongoing.