Tribunal rules baby decapitated due to doctor error

A tribunal has ruled that a baby decapitated during childbirth was due to the doctor’s actions when a natural birth was chosen over an emergency caesarean section.

The senior gynaecologist in question, Dr Vaishnavy Laxman, reportedly attempted to carry out a natural birth despite the patient’s dilation not being sufficient. At the time of the incident, the patient was under general anaesthetic as Dr Laxman proceeded with the attempt at the natural birth.

As part of an ongoing tribunal, the panel chairman has reportedly found that the attempt to delivery the baby naturally was the cause of the incident.

It’s understood that Dr Laxman has denied that the unborn baby decapitated was a mistake on her part, suggesting that the baby would not have survived a caesarean section in any event. The tribunal has said that the patient should have been given an emergency caesarean section when Dr Laxman attempted to carry out the natural birth. She reportedly applied traction to the baby’s legs as the patient pushed, causing the head to detach inside the mother’s womb.

The unborn baby, who was ruled to have passed away inside the womb, was subsequently delivered by an emergency caesarean section.

The tribunal has so far found that the risk to the baby decapitated in this tragic incident was not properly assessed, with panel chairman, Tim Bradbury, reportedly stating that it was Dr Laxman’s “increasingly desperate” attempts to deliver the baby naturally that resulted in the baby’s death.

The hearings remain ongoing, but this is by far one of the most tragic cases of what appears to be a preventable infant death at birth cases imaginable. No matter the outcome of the hearing, the tragic loss in this incident cannot be undone.