Baby dies in India after parents ‘watch YouTube tutorials’ on home birth

The woman delivered a stillborn child after giving birth at home in Tamil Nadu

The woman was admitted to a hospital in Vellore, Tamil Nadu, in a critical condition (Ajay Nagarajan / YouTube )

An Indian man who reportedly tried to help his wife deliver their child by referring to YouTube home birth tutorials has been detained.

The police said that the baby was stillborn after the 34-year-old man, R Loganathan, from Ranipet village in southern India’s Tamil Nadu tried to help his 28-year-old wife, L Gomathi, give birth to the child at home.

The infant’s body has been sent to the Government Medical College Hospital in Vellore for a postmortem examination, the police said on Monday. Ms Gomathi was also taken to the hospital in a critical condition.

D Bhaskara Pandian, a senior official from the Ranipet administration, said strict action would be taken against Mr Loganathan for risking the lives of the woman as well as the child. He added that officials will raise awareness about safe delivery systems.

V Manimaran, the deputy director of health in Ranipet, said they have registered a complaint as the couple’s actions led to the child’s death, according to The Indian Express newspaper.

The couple were married in June 2020. After Ms Gomathi became pregnant, she reportedly did not go in for regular health checks. She was scheduled to give birth on 13 December.

On 18 December, when she was experiencing labour pains, Mr Loganathan decided to watch YouTube videos about home births and enlisted the help of his sister, Geetha, to deliver the baby.

Police said that Ms Gomathi was in labour for a long time and bled profusely. She delivered a stillborn male child after a struggle. Mr Loganathan then took his wife to a nearby primary health centre, from where they were referred to the Vellore hospital.

Local police said they were conducting inquiries and “further action will be taken based on its outcome”, but no one has been booked so far.

An unnamed senior official said: “Family members said the delivery was done with Gomathi’s permission and that there was nothing wrong on the part of Loganathan, so we have not booked anyone yet.”