Young Mother Sues Hospital After Giving Birth In Hallway

A young woman who gave birth in the hallway outside her flat after she was allegedly sent home by doctors is taking legal action against the hospital who released her.

Nerea Sanchez, 25, gave birth to her baby girl, Keyla in the city of Bilbao, after being discharged from the Basurto hospital.

The dramatic birth reportedly took place on 4th January this year, with Nerea now saying that she is claiming EUR 60,000  in compensation from Osakidetza, the Basque Health Service in charge of public healthcare, after the Basurto hospital allegedly discharged her while she was in labour.

Baby Keyla had to be taken back to the same hospital after being born because she was found to be suffering from bronchiolitis, a viral chest infection in the lungs, with the infant then spending 13 days in the intensive care unit, according to local media.

The mother claims that she was inexplicably sent home despite a gynaecologist determining that she was already two to three centimetres dilated.

Picture shows Nerea Sanchez, 25, and her newborn Keyla, after the delivery in Bilbao, Spain, on January 4, 2023. She was discharged from the hospital while in labour and gave birth in the entrance of her building. (Newsflash)

She ended up giving birth right on her doorstep with the help of her brother, who has not been named, with Nerea saying that she could see that the baby’s head “was already out” while she was in the lift going up to her apartment.

She added that she believes that her baby had to spend 13 days in the intensive care unit “undoubtedly because of the cold” she was exposed to after being born.

The young mother, who was giving birth for the second time, had initially gone to the hospital in the early hours of the morning of 4th January, at around 2:30am, while she was in her 38th week of pregnancy because she had “strong and continuous” contractions every two or three minutes and suspected that she was in labour.

This is according to the complaint filed by the woman, who is reportedly being represented by the Gomez Menchaca law firm.

Medics at the hospital allegedly kept her under observation for two hours but without monitoring her and the patient noticed “how the contractions were increasing in cadence and intensity, which is why she needed to be examined” by a gynaecologist.

The specialist reportedly examined her at 5:00am and, after an ultrasound, discharged her “because he understands that the dilation corresponded to two or three centimetres.”

At the time, Nerea was reportedly having “contractions every minute”, but she was not monitored again.

Nerea has slammed the hospital, saying they caused a “moral and psychological impact of being neglected” that led to her having to give birth “to her daughter in her doorway”.

The case is ongoing.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPANISH NEWS

Share The Madrid Metropolitan: The only Madrid English language newspaper