A newborn baby died after two doctors fought with each other while the mother was in labour in a Brazilian hospital.
The men were fired by the public hospital in the city of Ivinhema, but investigators are still trying to find out if their argument played a role in the girl’s death.
Witnesses reported one doctor became angry because the other was summoned to deliver the baby for 32-year-old Gislaine de Matos Rodrigues even though he was not scheduled to be on duty.
The baby died of asphyxiation following complications.
One of the doctors admitted to Brazil’s Globo TV there was a fight in the delivery room, but blamed his colleague.
“I didn’t get in a fight with him,” said Dr Sinomar Ricardo. “He got into a fight with me.”
Ms Rodrigues said she was terrified when the fight broke out. “I asked them to stop fighting and help me. One of the nurses came to protect me and console me.”
A third doctor took over the delivery after hospital security guards removed the fighting doctors. She said her baby girl was dead upon delivery.
Police said they will investigate, and the regional body that oversees doctors in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul also launched a inquiry. The two doctors were given 10 days to report their versions of what happened in the hospital’s delivery room.
The postmortem report on the baby’s death is expected to be released next week.
AP