Serbia: Romani mother says obstetrician broke one of her ribs, racially insulted and threatened her during labor, causing her baby to die
Outrage and protests have been sparked in Serbia by the case of an obstetrician who allegedly threatened a Romani mother in labor with violence and caused her baby to die. The mother, Marica Mihajlović, has described her shocking experience on Facebook.
An autopsy of the Romani baby has confirmed her death was caused by the violent delivery. The obstetrician has been arrested and faces charges.
The young Romani woman was received in hospital in Sremská Mitrovica on 11 January 2024 after seven days in labor. A gynecologist informed her that she could not deliver naturally and planned a Caesarean delivery for that afternoon.
The obstetrician, however, did not come to the hospital until the evening and decided to attempt vaginal birth even though the child was too large. “The time passed and the doctor had still not arrived. He did not come until 18:20 and decided to induce labor the natural way. However, the nurses told me that the situation had not changed and that a C-section was necessary for me to deliver,” Mihajlović described in her Facebook post of 18 January.
Mihajlović alleges that when the doctor did arrive, he ignored her request for an operation, insulting her in racist terms and threatening to beat her face. “They’re giving me oxygen so I can breathe. I am asking the doctor for a C-section, but he does nothing but insult me. I beg and beg him for a C-section to save the child. At that moment, he beats me and squeezes my jaw. He threatens to split my skull in two, to crush my head. He makes racist insults. When he sees the baby cannot be born, he halts my labor and starts giving me narcotics and cutting me,” she described.
The doctor then pushed on the woman’s belly so forcefully that he broke one of her ribs. She lost consciousness because she was unable to breathe.
Baby Elenka was suffocated during the delivery by her own amniotic fluid and was born without any signs of life. While the doctors did manage to revive her heartbeat, she died the next day.
“The baby was healthy, I got regular checkups during my pregnancy. The monster who is responsible for the death of my child could have saved her, but he didn’t want to,” alleges Mihajlović, adding that she is neither the first nor the last woman in labor to whom this has happened under that doctor’s supervision.
“The midwives told me I have all of their support and that the other women in the delivery room with me will also testify on my behalf,” Mihajlović has posted. Romani news server Novosti reported on Monday that an autopsy has confirmed the death of Elenka was caused by her violent birth.
Perinatal asphyxia happens when an infant does not receive enough oxygen, either during delivery or just after being born. Too little oxygen can cause damage to the organs, in particular the brain. Mass aspiration of the meconium is a serious occurrence in which an infant aspirates or inhales the meconium (its first stool), into the lungs. Subgaleal hematoma is a condition where blood accumulates beneath the layer of connective tissue covering the bones of the skull.
“We received the autopsy report which confirms the death of my baby was caused by her violent birth, Elena had bruises on her head in addition to other injuries,” Mihajlović posted. The Novosti news server has published the full conclusions of the autopsy report: “On the basis of the clinical course and the autopsy findings, we have come to the conclusion that the unfavorable outcome was caused by severe perinatal asphyxia of the fetus, mass aspiration of the meconium, and subsequent bleeding on both sides of the pneumothorax and on both sides of the suprarenal area. We also substantiated the presence of subgaleal hematoma.“
The doctor has been arrested and police, in collaboration with the local Office of the Prosecutor in Sremská Mitrovica, are currently collecting evidence. “All of the necessary tasks are now being performed with the aim of ascertaining under what circumstances this incident transpired,” the Office of the Prosecutor told the daily Kurir in Serbia.
Mihajlović said her family was planning to contact a lawyer and that they will not rest until they achieve justice and the physician is punished. “I would be glad if this could be resolved as soon as possible, we should also be contacting a lawyer, we will not rest until the doctor is punished,” the young Romani woman said.
European Roma Rights Centre is providing legal aid
A lawyer with the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) is providing Mihajlović legal aid and will accompany her and represent her interests during the ongoing criminal investigation of the physician who allegedly committed violence against her. “The ERRC has contacted the Serbian authorities in writing with a call for them to investigate the probable racist motivation in this shocking case of violence against a Romani mother during labor. The ERRC is researching all available legal avenues for securing justice for Ms. Mihajlović and protecting other women and children from such obstetric violence,” the ERRC said on its website.
ERRC said it has taken testimony from other Romani women about this doctor and that it is allegedly neither the first such case of his abusing a pregnant Romani woman, nor the first case allegedly resulting in the death of a newborn. “This latest incident of racist abuse and violence against a Romani woman in childbirth is far from the first and sadly won’t be the last,” said the ERRC’s President, Đorđe Jovanović.
“According to the mother’s account, the death of the infant Elena was the tragic and traumatic outcome of wilful medical neglect, violent intimidation, and anti-Roma abuse. A maternity ward should be a place where expectant mothers feel safe, protected and respected. Instead, Marica Mihajlović found herself at the cruel intersection of racism, gender-based and institutional violence. This must end, and perpetrators must be held accountable for obstetric violence,” Jovanović said.
The case has shocked Serbia as a whole and sparked a wave of protests. On Friday, 19 January, people gathered in Belgrade outside the Health Ministry to protest obstetric violence.
People are criticizing the state of health care in Serbia and calling for reforms on social media.
