MP?stillbirths case of maltreatment: Experts

Hyderabad: The giving birth to 10 stillborn babies by 28-year-old Anju Kushwaha in Madhya Pradesh is a case of maltreatment and lack of monitoring, said fertility experts in the city.

The 12-week pregnant woman had completely formed babies, which could not survive due to “overcrowding in the womb”.

Dr Preethi Reddy, fertility expert at Rainbow Hospitals explained, “It is a case of ovulation induction which happens when a woman is given drugs to produce more eggs for fertility.

The dose must have been very high and it led to pregnancy which was then not monitored through ultrasound scans.” Registered fertility clinics have to monitor the situation of the patient from time to time and are also not allowed to prescribe high dose of oral drugs or injections.

An overstimulation in the ovaries is not a genetic process as the body does not allow this to happen, explained Dr Roya Rozati of Maternal Health and Research Trust.

Dr Rozati said, “It can’t be an in-vitro fertilisation as in that case only three eggs are inserted at any given point of time. Also, there have been cases where five to six eggs have matured earlier but in these cases tests are done and only two or three healthy eggs are kept in the womb.”

“The others are removed via surgical procedure in the first two weeks of pregnancy. An IVF center has to monitor the pregnant mother on a week to week basis in the first trimester as it is a crucial period,” she added.

But as the Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) Bill has not been passed by Parliament, there is no accountability for these procedures.

Ovary stimulation drugs are prescribed by quacks, general practitioners and also by registered medical practitioners. As they do not know the guidelines, it is difficult for them to monitor the effects, said experts.

Dr S. Vyjanthi, head of department of Infertility and Reproductive Medicine, KIMS Fertility Centre said, “The need for maintaining ethical standards is strongly felt in the industry and the Bill is the need of the hour.”

The case of Anju Kushwaha has once again brought the issue to the fore as the draft Bill on ART has been going back and forth.