Karachi Hospital Faces Allegation of Newborn Baby Disappearing, Administration Denies Claim
KARACHI:A maternity case at a private hospital in Karachi’s Nazimabad area has become controversial after a citizen accused the hospital of making a newborn baby disappear.
The private hospital, located in Nazimabad No. 3, was vandalised on the night of August 27 following allegations that a newborn baby had gone missing. Police reached the scene after receiving information and recorded statements from hospital staff and the affected family.
Rashid Iqbal, the husband of a woman identified as Zubia, claimed that the family had records of all ultrasound examinations and 38 weeks of pregnancy. According to him, his wife was confirmed to be pregnant throughout the period, but after the operation, the doctor allegedly told them that there was no baby and that his wife had not been pregnant.
According to sources, however, the hospital administration has a different account. Hospital officials said Zubia had been visiting the facility for check-ups since the beginning of the alleged pregnancy, but expressed suspicion that the woman may have been switched at the time of delivery.
The hospital is reportedly collecting eight to nine months of CCTV footage to investigate the matter.
Hospital sources said the woman brought to the labour room appeared slightly overweight, which initially made it difficult to determine whether she was pregnant. However, they claimed that as soon as she was taken into the labour room, it became clear that she was not pregnant, after which she was brought back outside.
Medical tests have also been conducted to establish whether the woman was pregnant, with the results expected within one to two days.
The incident also led to vandalism at the hospital by the affected man’s family members and relatives.
### Head of Gynaecology Rejects Family’s Allegations
Dr Anjum Ara Hassan, Head of the Gynaecology Department at the private hospital, rejected the allegations made by the woman’s family.
In a video statement, she claimed that medical-legal officer (MLO) reports had also established that the woman was not pregnant.
Dr Anjum said the woman had first visited her in February and claimed to have been pregnant for three months, but an ultrasound examination at the time showed a negative result for pregnancy.
She further alleged that examination entries in the woman’s hospital file were fabricated. According to the doctor, when the woman arrived for admission, she presented an allegedly fake ultrasound report from another hospital showing her as pregnant.
Dr Anjum said that during the examination at the hospital, the duty doctor conducted checks including assessment of the heartbeat and other tests before proceeding with the operation. She claimed that it was only after the operation that doctors discovered that the woman was not pregnant.
Police and hospital authorities are expected to examine medical records, ultrasound reports, CCTV footage and medical-test results to determine the actual circumstances surrounding the disputed case.
