A doctor is being investigated for reportedly climbing onto a pregnant woman's stomach and pulling the baby's head off during childbirth as the horrified father watched helplessly. According to reports, the incident took place on May 1 at the Hospital das Clinicas da UFMG in the Santa Efigenia neighborhood in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
The dead child's family claims that the girl was alive when she began to emerge and that the hospital attempted to pressure them into signing documents that would conceal what had transpired following the terrible event. The doctor and the hospital are now both being investigated for the shocking death of the child.
Murderer, Not Doctor
The mother, Ranielly Coelho Santos, filed a police report two days after the baby's attempted delivery. Police are currently investigating the infant's shocking death.
Santos, 34, who is already the mother of a nine-year-old daughter, was sent to the hospital on April 24 at a gestational age of 28 weeks due to concerns about her high blood pressure before doctors induced labor seven days later.
The unnamed obstetrician reportedly called the girl's father during the birth to have him closely watch the process.
The father claims to have witnessed his daughter blinking and moving her mouth during the delivery along with Santos' mother, providing evidence that she was still alive and well.
However, in a tragic turn of events, the doctor allegedly climbed upon the mother's stomach as she tried to deliver the girl and "ripped off the child's head," according to the family's report to the police.
According to the police complaint, the doctor apologized to the family from Ribeirao das Neves, a community outside of Belo Horizonte, for what happened during the baby's delivery.
They claim that after the infant died, a social worker at the hospital approached them and assured them that the hospital would cover all funeral expenses.
Trying to Cover Up
The offer, however, was valid only if the family agreed to sign documents stating that "the autopsy had already been performed at the hospital," "the child's body had already been examined," and "the body would not be forwarded to the Legal Medical Institute (IML) for further analysis."
The baby's remains were then analyzed at the IML after the parents refused to sign the agreement and made a police complaint, according to the family's attorney Jennifer Valente.
The hospital told Itatiaia that it "deeply regretted" the case and promised to "make every effort to investigate the facts," while awaiting the results of the autopsy.
The baby's body will be handed over to the parents on Tuesday so they can bury the little one themselves.
