THE parents of a newborn boy who died in a government hospital last June 5 asked the police on Wednesday to investigate what happened.
“Ipaglaban gyud na nako ang kaso sa akong anak (I will fight for my baby’s case),” Edalene Añosa said when she and her husband Roldan Añosa filed their complaint before the Women and Children Protection Desk of the Cebu City Police Office.
Also on Wednesday, June 15, Secretary Janette Garin ordered the Department of Health’s (DOH) regional office to investigate the Añosa infant’s death in the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) in Cebu City.
Garin told GMA 7 Balitang Bisdak that she also wants to know why the death certificate did not state how the infant died.
The document shown to the health secretary Wednesday was marked “N/A” in the space for the cause of death.
Secretary Garin, however, also said that doctors of VSMMC must be given a chance to explain their side of the story. (A VSMMC official, in an earlier interview, has urged the parents to file a complaint before the hospital.)
Police Inspector Arieza Otida said that the Women and Children Protection Desk already contacted the hospital and will conduct an inquiry.
“For now, we will do a fact-finding on the parents’ allegations. Rest assured that if we find out if there is really probable cause, we’ll proceed with the appropriate case,” she said.
The couple sought the help of Brigada News FM last Monday, saying they wouldn’t want other parents to suffer what they went through.
Edalene showed the baby’s pictures to the police.
The newborn, whom the couple decided to name John Niño, was a breech baby. His bottom, instead of his head, was positioned close to the birth canal shortly before delivery.
Edalene alleged that around 10 doctors were present.
There’s no confirmed information yet on who decided on a natural delivery, instead of a caesarian section.
Edalene, 32, said she could feel the hospital’s staff pulling the baby’s legs to get him out.
He was then immediately brought to the Intensive Care Unit, she said, but he died two hours later. The photos showed bruises on the infant’s neck, back and legs.
He was her fourth baby. The first one died in childbirth. She suffered a miscarriage during her third pregnancy. Her second child, however, is now 12 years old.
Ronald Añosa, the baby’s father, said he was dismayed.
“Di man nila tarungo’g tagad ang pasyente kung way kwarta. (They don’t give too much attention to patients who are poor),” Añosa said.