Overview
- State authorities say at least 18 women have died in government hospitals since May, with a sharp cluster of nine deaths reported between July 5 and July 10 that intensified official concern.
- Many fatalities have followed caesarean deliveries and been linked by hospital reports to acute kidney failure and other obstetric complications such as severe anaemia, hypertension, postpartum haemorrhage and HELLP syndrome.
- The government has opened expert inquiries, ordered initial reviews of each maternal death within 24 hours and launched the five-day screening drive from July 15 to strengthen antenatal monitoring and referral coordination.
- Families and some patients allege medical negligence and say poor or counterfeit drugs caused kidney damage, while hospital staff point to infrastructure strains such as heavy C‑section loads, limited instrument sets and at least one positive OT culture test.
- Beyond immediate clinical probes, the crisis has prompted political pressure for accountability and compensation and could force lasting changes to sterilisation practices, drug procurement and district referral systems if investigations find systemic lapses.