TIRUNELVELI: With the practice of government health institutions handing over the bodies of stillborn and also newborn babies to parents in big shopper bags or cardboard boxes often drawing criticism, the health department has decided to constitute a committee of doctors and experts to frame guidelines soon to curb this practice.
When contacted by TNIE, Health Secretary Supriya Sahu said specific guidelines on this matter were unavailable. She has asked her team to examine all related Standard Operating Procedures and guidelines, in addition to the practices in other states.
From time to time in Tamil Nadu, there have been cases of bodies of stillborn and newborn children being handed over to the parents in big shopper bags or boxes without being wrapped properly in shrouds. Ten days ago, the Tirupattur government hospital handed over the body of a newborn to Thangaraj and his wife Ramya in a big shopper bag, sparking outrage among their relatives.
In August, media had reported about a man discarding his newborn’s body wrapped in a shopper bag labelled ‘dead child’ near the Marina swimming pool after collecting it from Kasturba Gandhi Hospital for Women and Children in Chennai. The police later handed over the body back to the parents, advising them to conduct a proper burial.
Similarly, in December 2023, a staff member at Kilpauk Medical College Hospital, Chennai was suspended for giving the body of a stillborn to the parent, Masood, in a cardboard box. In March 2023, the mortuary staff members of Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital handed over a newborn’s body to its father, Sorimuthu, from Kalathimadam in Tenkasi, in a big shopper bag.
Many such incidents went unreported. Recounting his ordeal, Sorimuthu said, “I was also denied the service of an ambulance. I had to travel in a bus to my native village with my newborn’s body in the bag, fearing that the conductor might discover it and ask me to get off.”
Supriya Sahu told TNIE that there is certainly an urgent need to ensure respectful and dignified handling of stillborn and dead babies so that the grieving families are treated with empathy and sensitivity during such difficult times. “To address this issue comprehensively, I will constitute a committee of doctors and experts to chalk out guidelines within two weeks,” she added.