Another death reported from the “raddom”

north_east

Another tragedy at a maternity hospital. Stillborn baby sparks outrage

On June 20 of this year, 30-year-old Gulnara Miraminova entered the maternity unit of the Tashkent Medical Academy’s multidisciplinary clinic—commonly known as the “new TashMI” or “raddom”—on her own feet. She died 15 days later, on July 5, and her body was handed over to her relatives. QALAMPIR.UZ has learned details of the incident from the victim’s family.

According to her mother-in-law, Zarifa Vakhobova, Gulnara was expected to give birth on June 27, but labor began early, on June 20.

“They said, ‘We’ll take her, she’s ready to give birth.’ We took her to the hospital, and she went in. It took hours. After more than half an hour, my daughter-in-law called and said, ‘Mom, you have a grandson.’ We were all so happy—my boss, my son, my daughter-in-law, and I. We were thanking God for blessing us with another son,” Vakhobova recalls.

However, the family’s joy quickly faded. Although the birth took place on June 20, Gulnara remained in the hospital, and complications soon arose. On June 24, she developed a high fever. The family was told that if her fever subsided for two days, she would be discharged on the third day. But the fever persisted.

“Her temperature rose to 38, then 39, and even 40 degrees. Doctors said there must be something retained inside, and they would clean it out. Still, the fever didn’t go away,” says Vakhobova.

The family also claims that strong medications were administered to Gulnara, and they question whether narcotics were used.

“At that point, my daughter-in-law was already in a critical state,” Vakhobova continues. “When she asked for medicine, my son went to the pharmacy. But someone asked him, ‘Why are you taking these drugs—are they from drug addicts?’ My son explained that his wife was in intensive care. They told him, ‘We can’t sedate her anymore, we need to keep her brain functioning, we can’t shut it down.’ So he agreed and brought her the medication.”

According to Gulnara’s father-in-law, the midwives at the hospital expressed dissatisfaction with the money they received after the birth.

“She gave birth at around 3:00 p.m. The mother-in-law gave a cash gift to the midwife and her assistant right after. But then the midwife came back and said, ‘Your mother-in-law gave me too little.’ The assistant also said, ‘She didn’t give me much either.’ Aren’t they already being paid by the state? If they’re not satisfied with what they’re given, does that give them the right to mistreat the patient? Saying things like, ‘Your mother-in-law didn’t pay enough—do you want complications now?’ That’s not how it should work,” the father-in-law said.

Despite several days having passed since the death of Gulnara Miraminova, the official cause of death has yet to be disclosed to her family.

“They didn’t give us a diagnosis. They never said, ‘She definitely died from this.’ When my son went to request the medical report, they told him, ‘This paper is only given to doctors, not to you.’ Don’t we have the right to know how she died? Isn’t that our right?” said the victim’s mother-in-law, expressing the family’s frustration. “Until now, no one from either prenatal or postnatal care has explained the cause of death.”

When QALAMPIR.UZ visited the Multidisciplinary Clinic of the Tashkent Medical Academy to request information, officials stated that all doctors involved in Gulnara Miraminova’s case had been summoned to the prosecutor’s office. About two hours later, Aziz Umarov, Deputy Chief Physician for Obstetrics, met with reporters and provided details about the incident.

According to Umarov, Gulnara Miraminova gave birth on June 20 at the clinic. She delivered a healthy baby boy weighing 4.2 kilograms. The delivery was normal, with no complications such as bleeding or tearing.

“The issue began the next day, when she developed a fever. An ultrasound revealed a hematometra—accumulated blood in the uterus—which was cleared on June 23. At the same time, we began antibacterial treatment. Following diagnoses of ‘endometritis’ and ‘hematometra,’ treatment continued with antibiotics and medication to contract the uterus. On June 26, the hematometra reappeared, and another cleaning procedure was performed. In the following days, ulcers appeared on the patient’s groin and legs. A team of specialists—including a dermatovenerologist, a purulent surgeon, and an infectious disease expert—was brought in. She was diagnosed with “toxicodermia” and “chronic pyoderma,” and treatment was initiated.

By June 29, the patient no longer had a fever. However, on July 4 at around 12:00 p.m., Gulnara showed signs of clinical death. Although resuscitation efforts temporarily restored her cardiovascular activity, she was transferred to the intensive care unit. The following day, on July 5, her heart stopped again, and resuscitation attempts failed. She was pronounced clinically dead,” Umarov explained.

Umarov stated that the initial cause of death has been diagnosed as pulmonary artery thromboembolism.

“This is a condition that is very difficult to predict. After her condition worsened, we performed duplex scans and found 9-centimeter-long thrombi in the arm veins. The danger of a thrombus is that if it moves, it can block critical arteries. In this case, it appears the patient moved—she was walking, actively caring for her baby, speaking, and fully conscious. The thrombus likely migrated and lodged in the main artery of the lungs, disrupting heart and lung function and leading to sudden death,” Umarov said.

He noted that the final, most conclusive finding will come from a pathological and histological examination, which is mandatory in all cases of maternal or infant death.

“After autopsy, tissue samples are taken for histological and bacteriological testing. Microscopic slides are prepared and examined to determine the exact cause. Only after this process will both prosecutors and medical experts finalize their conclusions,” Umarov added.