Denise
Moderator
A 'stillborn' baby was found alive in a drawer in a hospital morgue by her distressed mother 12 hours after the girl was declared dead, it emerged today.
Analia Bouter was 26 weeks pregnant when she gave birth to her fifth child prematurely at a hospital in Resistencia, in Argentina's northern Chaco province.
But after medical staff told her that the infant was born with no vital signs, her distraught parents went home with a death certificate.
Analía Bouter of Argentina said she fell to her knees when she discovered her 'stillborn' daughter alive in a morgue drawer
Twelve hours later, Mrs Bouter and her husband decided to go to see their baby's body, which was being kept in a refrigerated drawer at the Perrando hospital morgue.
She told Argentina's Clarin newspaper: ‘That night, we went to the morgue. We wanted to take a photo of our daughter.
'But when a worker opened the drawer, we heard a cry and she was alive.’
She said she ‘stepped back and fell to my knees’ after she ‘saw her stretching,' the mother added.
‘My baby was born at 10.24am and at 11.05am was already in the drawer. She spent 12 hours in the freezing cold of that morgue. I saw for myself the ice on her body.’
Mrs Bouter said that her pregnancy was normal until she suddenly went into early labour on April 3.
She said: ‘At first the doctors said that she was born dead, then said she had died shortly after birth because she was too small to survive.
‘I don't know who is to blame, and I'm not thinking about it at this moment. The joy of knowing she's alive is covering every other feeling. I'm a Christian, and I believe this was a miracle of God.’
And she said that her daughter is ‘getting stronger by the minute’.
The parents, who were going to call their daughter Luciana Abigail, said she will now be baptised Luz Milagros, which means Light Miracles.
Meanwhile, the Perrando hospital has suspended the medical staff involved in the birth while they conduct an investigation.
The hospital's director Jose Luis Meirino said: ‘At the moment we have no explanation.
'The baby was attended to by obstetricians, gynaecologists and a neonatologist. They all reached the same conclusion, that this girl was stillborn.’
He said that hypothermia may have caused the baby to go into a type of hibernation, causing her vital signs to vanish completely.
Rafael Sabatinelli, health secretary for Argentina's Chaco province, called the case ‘disgraceful’ and promised a full investigation.
He said: ‘Every member of the team that was involved has some responsibility, so they will have to answer for this.’ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...nced-dead.html
More about this here:
THE TELEGRAPH....
Mother finds 'stillborn' baby alive in hospital morgue in Argentina
An Argentine woman who gave birth to a “stillborn” baby found her alive in a hospital morgue 12 hours after doctors pronounced the infant dead.
Analía Bouter, from Fontana, Argentina, said she insisted on seeing the body of her daughter, born three months prematurely, to say goodbye to her properly and was taken to the morgue by staff at the Perrando Hospital in Chaco province the north of the country. The baby was apparently taken directly to the morgue after being declared dead.
But only 12 hours after her baby was pronounced dead by doctors last Tuesday morning, Mrs Bouter found her breathing in one of the morgue’s drawers.
Mrs Bouter told Argentine television that she thought she was hallucinating when she opened the tiny coffin and found the infant still breathing. She said the baby let out a whimper as if she was waking up from a nap.
“I went with Fabián, my husband, at around 9pm to see her body,” Mrs Bouter said.
“We opened the drawer and I touched her hand. I felt her look at me and when I saw her alive I fell to my knees. Then suddenly she let out a cry. She was freezing in there.”
Mrs Bouter said doctors told her that “nobody knows how she could have survived 12 hours in a refrigerated room.”
Her husband, who had already taken steps to obtain a death certificate, had asked to see his daughter before she was taken to the morgue, but doctors told him the drawer had already been shut and that he would have to wait.
“I folded back the blanket and we saw her hands moving. I couldn’t believe it. I was speechless,” he said.
A morgue worker quickly picked up the girl and confirmed she was alive. Then, Mrs Bouter’s brother grabbed the baby and ran to the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit, shouting for help.
The baby was so cold, Mrs Bouter said, that “it was like carrying a bottle of ice.”
The young couple have named their daughter, who is now recovering in hospital, Luz Milagro, which translates as Light Miracle.
“Luz is a miracle,” Mrs Bouter said. “If we had left it to go and see her another day, she may not have held on.”
Luz was born prematurely on April 3 after only six months of pregnancy. Doctors said she was born without vital signs. One week on, Luz is said to be improving, although health officials said that like any baby born three months prematurely, she has a 10 per cent chance of survival.
Mrs Bouter said she is still seeking answers about what happened. She said she had given birth normally to four other children and did not know why she was given general anesthesia. She also says she does not know why she was not allowed to see her baby before it was put into a coffin. The family now plan to sue the staff at the hospital.
Rafael Sabatinelli, secretary of health of the Chaco province where the Bouters live, called the events a “disgrace” and has opened an investigation. Five medical professionals have been suspended. The health ministry later added that the couple were receiving psychological and financial assistance.
José Luis Meiriño, director of the hospital, said: “We work under strict protocols, but there’s no explanation for this.”
