Jaipur: A second young mother died in under three days at the PBM Hospital in Bikaner Sunday after developing severe post-caesarean complications, deepening alarm over maternal care in Rajasthan’s govt-run hospitals. This comes even as the state govt has so far failed to identify the cause of five post-delivery deaths in Kota in May and continues to shift blame.26-year-old Sharda died while under ventilator support after suffering kidney failure and undergoing multiple dialysis sessions.She was admitted to PBM Hospital on June 3 with and underwent a caesarean section the next day, hospital records show. Within 24 hours of surgery, Sharda’s urine output stopped and her condition deteriorated due to kidney-related complications. She was shifted to the medicine ICU on June 5 and underwent multiple dialysis sessions before being put on ventilator support.“Her condition was critical for the last several days,” said PBM Hospital Medical superintendent Dr B C Ghiya.Sharda’s death comes just two days after 20-year-old Preeti died at the same hospital Friday while also on ventilator support and after developing similar complications following a caesarean delivery.Sharda and Priti were among six women who developed severe post-delivery complications at PBM Hospital over the past weeks. With the two of them now dead, two others remain hospitalised in serious condition, while the remaining two have been discharged.Sunday’s death sharpens scrutiny of the Rajasthan govt’s handling of a worrying pattern of maternal fatalities at state-run hospitals. Five women who developed similar post-delivery complications died in Kota in May, with the govt yet to establish a clear cause of their deaths.
