An Indian teenager was forced to go into labor on a public street while the local health center hesitated to give her medical attention.
Residents in Jharkhand’s Seraikela Kharsawan district claimed that the 17-year-old girl had been living on the streets for more than four months prior to the incident.
According to Daily Mail, 50-year-old local resident Om Prakash Sharma had to form roadblocks on the street to prevent the Indian teenager from getting hit by vehicles as she was in the middle of the road.
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The malnourished girl was unable to make the trip to the nearest local health center, which was only 100 meters (328 feet) away.
While residents requested the health center to transport the teenager, they were forced to use an auto rickshaw instead since the hospital insisted there weren’t any ambulance drivers available at the time, according to Hindustan Times.
The teenager eventually made her way to the hospital albeit covered in blood and carrying her baby still attached to a dangling umbilical cord.
However, her problem didn’t end there as the hospital staff refused to give the girl immediate medical attention since they needed permission from her guardian and their superiors. Authorities were able to get a hold of Dr. Lakhindra Hansda who then rushed to the hospital to detach the umbilical cord.
The young mother and her baby are now in a stable condition, but locals expressed their frustration saying that the situation could’ve been handled better. Dr. Hansda mentioned that the lack of medical attention was “wrong and unfortunate” and explained that the only remaining staff in the facility were busy delivering twin babies.
Hospital staff have informed the teenager’s parents in the hopes that she gets much-needed support. The girl was reportedly left by her boyfriend during pregnancy, resulting in the teen mom getting banished from her home due to staining her family’s reputation.
