Kota’s New Medical College Hospital (NMCH) reported a second postpartum death within 24 hours after a Caesarean section, bringing renewed scrutiny to maternal care at the government-run facility months after five women died following acute kidney complications there.
Roshan Bairwa, a resident of Baran, died on Saturday morning after being referred to NMCH from a private hospital with severe anaemia and malnutrition, according to the hospital superintendent, Dr Ashutosh Sharma. She weighed around 39–40 kg and underwent a C-section around midnight, after which her condition deteriorated rapidly.
Dr Sharma said Bairwa developed continuous severe postpartum haemorrhage, or PPH, following the surgery. Doctors administered a blood transfusion and took her back to the operation theatre in an attempt to control the bleeding, but were unable to stop it. She died at around 11:30 am on Saturday, he said.
The death occurred hours after another postpartum patient, 40-year-old Reshma from Kota’s Chhawni area, died during treatment late on Friday night. Reshma had developed acute kidney-related complications after undergoing her fourth C-section delivery on October 14, according to the report.
Dr Sharma said Bairwa’s death was unrelated to the acute kidney failure cases linked to previous C-section patients at NMCH in May. He also said the cause of death differed from the complications reported in Reshma’s case. Anita, 30, who underwent a C-section alongside Reshma on October 14, remains under treatment and is showing signs of recovery, hospital authorities said.
The two deaths have brought fresh attention to the capacity of a tertiary government hospital to manage high-risk pregnancies, severe bleeding and referrals from private facilities. In Bairwa’s case, the hospital identified severe anaemia and malnutrition as factors that made the pregnancy high risk, while the immediate cause described by the superintendent was uncontrolled postpartum haemorrhage.
Postpartum haemorrhage is a critical obstetric emergency because rapid blood loss can cause a patient’s condition to worsen within a short period. The hospital said Bairwa received a transfusion and was taken for another operation, but the bleeding continued despite those interventions.
Hospital authorities said Bairwa’s family submitted a written statement declining an autopsy and further action. Her body was subsequently handed over to the family, according to the report.
The latest deaths come five months after a May 5 incident at the same hospital in which 12 postpartum women developed acute renal failure after C-sections. Five women—Payal, Jyoti, Pinky, Priya and Shireen—died, while seven others survived after extensive treatment.
The hospital has distinguished the latest cases from the May episode and from each other on the basis of the complications described by its superintendent. The immediate institutional response and any further review into the two latest deaths were not detailed in the report. Anita’s treatment and the hospital’s handling of the cases remain the next reported developments to monitor.
