A Filipino couple in the United Arab Emirates is pursuing charges against a doctor whose alleged negligence they claimed led to the death of their baby.
Eric and Melinda Bartolome blamed the doctor at the Dubai Healthcare City (DHCC) for the loss of what would have been their first child – a boy – in August.
The hospital is now investigating the incident, according to a report on Gulf News on Saturday.
“(Last May, the doctor) told us that I was okay, the baby is fine and normal. She even pointed at the baby’s mouth when it opened and made us hear his heartbeat,” Melinda said in her letter to DHCC, according to the Gulf News report.
Melinda said she had been referred to the female doctor after her previous doctor had gone on vacation.
During their first check-up last May 15, they did an ultrasound on the fetus.
But at 19 weeks, they lost the baby after Melinda said she developed a negative reaction to an antihypertensive drug prescribed by the doctor.
“I’m seeking answers. I just want to know what happened, in just 21 hours to be exact, after taking the medicine. I really think it’s the medicine that caused it,” Melinda said in an interview with Gulf News.
For its part, DHCC expressed “deepest sympathy" to Melinda on the loss of her baby.
"The complaint is currently being investigated and no additional information is available at this time,” the hospital said.
Meanwhile, Gulf News quoted the doctor involved as saying Melinda’s blood pressure reading was 130/70, which her previous doctor indicated as normal.
The doctor changed her medication from Aldomet, which was prescribed by Melinda’s two previous doctors, to Trandate, with the generic name labetalol.
“She [Melinda] was on a very old fashioned blood pressure medication called Aldomet. So, she was moved to labetalol, which is the current practice in terms of management of blood pressure problems in pregnancy,” said the doctor at the center of the controversy.
But three hours after taking the drug, Melinda reportedly felt some tingling sensation in her scalp, got fever and chills.
She noticed some light brown watery discharge on her underpants at 2 a.m., and this continued for three hours. She also felt dizzy and heavy.
When they decided to go to the hospital the morning after, Melinda felt a sudden pain in her abdomen. Within two minutes, she was in labor.
“From where I was, I could see the baby come out, feet first. When he finally breached, he just fell right into my hands,” Eric said.
Doctor's side
Gulf News quoted the doctor as saying the drug was safe, and that what had caused the miscarriage was a uterine infection.
But the report added there was no laboratory result that could confirm this.
“I know it’s a bereavement. In 19 weeks it’s extremely tragic to lose a baby. The fact is the waters breaking is not something that we can predict. There was nothing to indicate that there was any infection. We don’t have these abilities to predict. We’re humans, we don’t have a crystal ball, I’m afraid. So, we see people today, they might go into labour tonight,” the doctor said.
Source: GMA News
Eric and Melinda Bartolome blamed the doctor at the Dubai Healthcare City (DHCC) for the loss of what would have been their first child – a boy – in August.
The hospital is now investigating the incident, according to a report on Gulf News on Saturday.
“(Last May, the doctor) told us that I was okay, the baby is fine and normal. She even pointed at the baby’s mouth when it opened and made us hear his heartbeat,” Melinda said in her letter to DHCC, according to the Gulf News report.
Melinda said she had been referred to the female doctor after her previous doctor had gone on vacation.
During their first check-up last May 15, they did an ultrasound on the fetus.
But at 19 weeks, they lost the baby after Melinda said she developed a negative reaction to an antihypertensive drug prescribed by the doctor.
“I’m seeking answers. I just want to know what happened, in just 21 hours to be exact, after taking the medicine. I really think it’s the medicine that caused it,” Melinda said in an interview with Gulf News.
For its part, DHCC expressed “deepest sympathy" to Melinda on the loss of her baby.
"The complaint is currently being investigated and no additional information is available at this time,” the hospital said.
Meanwhile, Gulf News quoted the doctor involved as saying Melinda’s blood pressure reading was 130/70, which her previous doctor indicated as normal.
The doctor changed her medication from Aldomet, which was prescribed by Melinda’s two previous doctors, to Trandate, with the generic name labetalol.
“She [Melinda] was on a very old fashioned blood pressure medication called Aldomet. So, she was moved to labetalol, which is the current practice in terms of management of blood pressure problems in pregnancy,” said the doctor at the center of the controversy.
But three hours after taking the drug, Melinda reportedly felt some tingling sensation in her scalp, got fever and chills.
She noticed some light brown watery discharge on her underpants at 2 a.m., and this continued for three hours. She also felt dizzy and heavy.
When they decided to go to the hospital the morning after, Melinda felt a sudden pain in her abdomen. Within two minutes, she was in labor.
“From where I was, I could see the baby come out, feet first. When he finally breached, he just fell right into my hands,” Eric said.
Doctor's side
Gulf News quoted the doctor as saying the drug was safe, and that what had caused the miscarriage was a uterine infection.
But the report added there was no laboratory result that could confirm this.
“I know it’s a bereavement. In 19 weeks it’s extremely tragic to lose a baby. The fact is the waters breaking is not something that we can predict. There was nothing to indicate that there was any infection. We don’t have these abilities to predict. We’re humans, we don’t have a crystal ball, I’m afraid. So, we see people today, they might go into labour tonight,” the doctor said.
Source: GMA News
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