Hospital cleared of blame in pregnant death

It said patient Nam-oy Thumthab, 22, had a gradual uterine rupture, her symptoms appeared not severe and a doctor using ultrasound testing did not detect bleeding in her abdominal cavity.

An autopsy was later to find the uterine rupture caused Nam-oy's death.

Medical Services Department deputy chief, Dr Jessada Chokdamrongsuk, presided over the committee's meeting and invited the case doctor and two nurses to detail what happened.

Jessada told reporters uterine rupture can have two causes: a doctor's efforts to speed up a childbirth and a natural rupture. In this case, he said, it was likely to be the latter.

The rupture was gradual and Nam-oy's body could adjust to it at first. But she then went into fatal shock, occurring so abruptly it could not be treated in time, he said.

Jessada said previous injury from surgery for child birth, tumour removal or curettage could cause a natural rupture. He said the Police General Hospital's morgue would check on uterus and lung tissues for a clearer result for the cause of death.

Asked why the patient was at first said to have died from "amniotic fluid embolism" (amniotic fluid leaking into the blood circulation system), Jessada said that Nam-oy's case had been difficult to diagnose.

Before the autopsy's finding, doctors believed there was a probability amniotic fluid might have leaked into Nam-oy's blood. However there had been no sign of pain and her symptoms were not severe at first, he said.

Nam-oy's mother Samrong Thumthab, 43, said she would not sue the hospital, believing that if it was at fault, the truth would ultimately prevail. She wondered, however, why the doctor did not recognise her daughter's uterine rupture and why the hospital didn't call the family when her condition became critical.