Madhya Pradesh woman gives birth to 16th child, both die

A 45-year-old migrant labourer died on Saturday while giving birth to her 16th child in Madhya Pradesh’s Dakoh district, officials said.

According to district officials, the woman, identified as Sukhirani Ahirwar, had returned to Padhajiri village in Batiyagarh block after the lockdown. She had registered with the district hospital in July and was declared critically anaemic by health workers who visited her in September. “She was also given iron supplement. But on Saturday she had a premature delivery and died before she reached the civil hospital,” said Chief Medical Health Officer Sangeeta Trivedi.

Following her death, an Auxillary Nurse Midwife (ANM) and a health supervisor from Hata block have been suspended for dereliction of duty. According to collector Damoh, Tarun Rathi, the action has been taken as they failed to inform their supervisor of the woman’s health as she was a critical patient, while a showcause notice has been issued to ASHA worker in the block