Pregnant Woman Delivers Baby on Hospital Lawn After Being Denied Treatment, Facility Director Suspended

A pregnant woman in labour was denied medical help by a Mexican hospital saying that she was "not ready" for delivery and was forced to give birth on the hospital lawn.

Irma Lopez, 29, and her husband went to the healthcare centre after she complained of pain. But the hospital nurse turned the couple's request down by saying that Irma was "still not ready" for the delivery.

But, Irma's water broke an hour and half later, and she delivered the baby on the hospital lawn. The healthcare staff then admitted her and discharged the same day. 

"I didn't want to deliver like this. It was so ugly and with so much pain," she told the Associated Press. This is the third baby of the couple, who stay in a one-bedroom hut at the mountains of Oaxaca. They walked for an hour to reach the healthcare facility.

Following this incident, director Dr Adrian Cruz of the healthcare facility has been suspended.

Irma belongs to Maztec ethnicity. The incident raised questions over discrimination against indigenous people and lack of proper medical system in the country.

The Associated Press reported that the hospital declined to help the expecting mother because it was understaffed and dismissed that Irma was not ready to give birth as she was in eighth month of pregnancy. The federal Health Department and the National Human Rights Commission are probing into the incident.

A witness took the photo of Irma delivering on the hospital lawn. It shows the mother in a squatting position and her newborn on the lawn with the umbilical cord still attached. The picture was circulated across media outlets and created uproar in Mexico.

"The photo is giving visibility to a wider structural problem that occurs within indigenous communities: Women are not receiving proper care. They are not being offered quality health services, not even a humane treatment," Mayra Morales, Oaxaca's representative for the national Network for Sexual and Reproductive Rights, said.