An undertaker had the shock of his life. He was preparing to bury a premature stillborn baby when he noticed that the infant had a faint heartbeat.
Baby Augustus, the stillborn baby, was born at seven months to his 18-year-old mother at a hospital in Ariquemes in Brazil in late December 2021. The doctors declared that the child was dead upon birth.
Reports cited that the hospital turned away the mother when she sought help for bleeding and severe pain. She went home and gave birth to her son, who weighed 2 lbs., 3 oz, without any medical assistance. Hours later, the mother returned to the hospital with her baby, and the doctors declared he was stillborn.
Outrage at the Doctors
The hospital then called an undertaker to take care of the baby's body for burial, and he picked up the body at dawn. A few hours later, as he was working on the presumed lifeless body of the baby, the undertaker noticed the "dead baby" stirring and breathing, so he checked for a heartbeat.
Stunned with the discovery of a heartbeat, the undertaker immediately returned the baby to the hospital so Augustus could be treated at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. According to reports, the baby has responded well to the treatment, and his condition has stabilized.
Meanwhile, the baby's mother has been discharged and recovering at home. The grandmother, on the other hand, has been visiting the hospital to watch over her grandson, whose health has been progressing and he's been "moving a lot."
She is outraged at the doctors for not making an effort to save her grandson's life; thus, the family filed for a medical malpractice report with the local police. However, officials of the hospital insisted that Augustus was dead when the doctors delivered him, and it was likely a miracle that he "somehow" started breathing.
The hospital and its doctors will be subjected to an investigation with the Civil Police and the Public Ministry.
Stillborn Baby Cries Moments Before Burial
The Brazil incident is the second bizarre case involving stillborn babies in a matter of a week. In Turkey, the grieving father of a newborn child was also shocked to hear his son crying just moments before being lowered to the ground for his burial.
Doctors at the Yuregir State Hospital told Melek Sert, 32, and Hasan Sert, 34, that their son, born five months into the pregnancy on Sunday, Jan. 2, 2022, was a stillborn baby. The dad decided to immediately take his body to the cemetery for burial. He has returned to the hospital, where his boy has been fighting for his life.
As with the mom from Brazil, Melek was experiencing bleeding and severe pain. She was treated and discharged from the hospital after three days. However, Melek's condition deteriorated, so the couple rushed back to the hospital, where doctors said she was likely experiencing a miscarriage.
The authorities are also investigating the hospital and the doctors for negligence.
