A court has heard how a baby was decapitated inside his mother’s womb when a top doctor told the would-be mother to push while holding the baby’s leg.
With the head in the first-time mother’s womb, she had to undergo a C-section to remove it and sow it back the body so she could hold him and say goodbye.
It is alleged that 41-year-old Dr Vaishnavy Laxman should have given the 30-year old patient an emergency Caesarean section at Ninewells Hospital, Dundee, as the baby was in a breech position.
But it is claimed the consultant gynaecologist instead attempted to carry out the delivery naturally and told the mum to push while pulling the baby’s legs.
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This caused his legs, arms and torso to become detached, leaving the head still in his mother’s womb, the hearing was told.
At a Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service in Manchester, the mum – known as Patient A – told Dr Laxman “I don’t forgive you – I don’t forgive you” as the doctor stared down at the floor.
Patient A also told the hearing that she had been assured she would be given a C-section in the event of a breech birth.
She told the tribunal she was not informed about what would happen next, before being told to push.
She said:
”The only pain relief I was given was a spray on my tongue.
“I was told it was meant to loosen my cervix but I was not given gas and air – I was in pain.
“I had the doctors putting their hands inside me and I had them pushing on my stomach and then pulling me down.”
The grieving mum said Dr Laxman apologised after she was told her son had died – but as she didn’t know what had happened she told her “it’s alright, these things happen, I forgive you”.
She added:
“She went away but I started screaming when I found out the full extent – I was just crying. I was upset because of the severity of his injury.
“I would never use the word stillborn, he was not stillborn he was decapitated.”