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Baby decapitated after doctor opts for natural delivery over C-section and tells mom to "give me one good push"

A consultant gynecologist accused of causing an unborn baby to be accidentally decapitated inside his mother's womb was overheard telling the mother to 'give me a good push.'
UPDATED FEB 18, 2020
(Source:Getty Images)
(Source:Getty Images)

A mother was allegedly instructed to give a good push from a top doctor just moments before her baby was decapitated during an unsuccessful labor attempt.

According to The Sun, a medical tribunal heard that 41-year-old Dr Vaishnavy Laxman decided to proceed with delivery of the baby even though her colleagues warned that the infant was going to die.

She is said to have tugged at and pulled on the baby's legs causing the skull to be detached from the rest of the body and stuck in the mother's womb. Laxman was a consultant gynecologist who worked at Dundee Hospital during that time.


After the botched natural birthing attempt, a C-section was performed to remove the dead baby's head from the womb.

The head was then "re-attached" to the baby's body so that his mother could hold him before bidding farewell to her stillborn son.

Dr Shmaila Siddiki told the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service, "I was so shocked at what was happening. I just said 'it’s dead, this baby is going to die."

She continued, "I was under the impression we were going to do a C-section and this caused us a delay. I didn’t know what she was planning."

Siddiki added, "Dr. Laxman was encouraging the patient to push and she was pulling the baby down. This was not what I was expecting."

"I was speaking to another doctor who said 'how is she going to do it, how is she going to deliver the head'."


While the fellow doctors at Ninewells Hospital were preparing for a C-section, they had no idea that Laxman had opted for a natural delivery.

They were allegedly left "in shock" and exclaimed "this baby is dead" after the skull was detached from the torso.

The tragic incident occurred when Laxman was working with a team of other doctors at Ninewells Hospital on March 16, 2014.

According to the testimony, the mother's water had broken 15 weeks prematurely and the unborn baby had a "prolapsed cord and was in a breech position", it was revealed upon examination. The mother's cervix was around 2-3cm dilated at the time while it can be fully dilated to up to 10 cm.

It is being alleged that Dr Laxman decided in favor of a natural delivery and not a cesarean section despite the dire conditions of the unborn child.


Dr Siddiki told the Manchester tribunal, "I remember 3 cm dilation being said and I saw Dr Laxman go to examine her but I don't know what she was doing." 

"I believe she was examining the patient to confirm the findings but she didn't tell me why she was examining the patient."

"She could not comment on what she was doing but another doctor told me they were not considering a Caesarean section. All I heard Dr Laxman say to the patient was 'I'm going to examine you'."

"If she was fully dilated, the baby could be delivered vaginally but she never communicated with the patient about doing a vaginal delivery. I never got the information that she was going to do that. I'm not sure what she was doing.

"We were set up for a C-section, she had a prolapsed cord and she was 25 plus 6 weeks gestated." 

"I said 'are you not going for a C-section' and all she said was 'I know that'. I don't know what the plan was in her mind. After that, I saw the feet coming out of the vagina. I admit I didn't tell her to stop and I saw her pull on the legs."

"The patient was pushing the baby and the baby was being delivered by traction. It was repeated pulls and traction and it lasted for approximately 15-20 minutes."

"I wanted to look for any fetal abnormality but Dr Laxman was encouraging the patient to push and she was pulling the baby down. This was not what I was expecting."

"If she was only at 3cm it would have been right for her to have a C-section. I just said 'this baby is dead now' I was so shocked. I didn't express this to Dr Laxman."

"I had no confirmation of this as I wasn't standing near to see, but I just knew. The baby's heartbeat had dropped. I saw the baby's legs coming out of the vagina, then she delivered up to the chest, it happened very quickly.

"Dr Laxman said to the patient 'give me a good push' and there was repeated pulling on the legs and body. Sometimes the shoulders are tricky to deliver as the arms can get stuck and it can be hard to get out.

"The information of her consultation was that she was not properly dilated but it was hard to know how hard this was to get the baby out. There were two attempts made by Dr Laxman to cut the cervix but I didn't know what she was doing."

Saying that the incident had haunted her for the longest time, another doctor broke down as she recounted the unsuccessful delivery yesterday.

Having said that, Dr Laxman denies having any part in the death of the infant amid fears of losing her license.

Dr Laxman should have performed a Cesarean instead of natural delivery, say lawyers for the General Medical Council, while arguing that a "fragile" baby like him who passed away would have suffered "a lot more damage if twisted or pulled."

Speaking to the distraught mother Dr Laxman's lawyer Gerard Boyle QC told her, “Dr Laxman has asked me to say she is so very sorry and deeply saddened for the outcome of your baby."

The hearing continues.

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