RAWALPINDI: Sadia Adeel was happy that she would soon become the mother of twins but her happiness was shortlived when the hospital staff handed her just one child on Friday.

Imtiaz Bibi, the mother of 23-year-old widow, first thought that the second baby of her daughter had died.

When she asked for the body, the doctors and nurses at the District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital told her that her daughter had given birth to a baby girl, not twins.

Sadia’s husband died two months ago after which she started living with her mother who works as a maid in different houses to feed her daughter.

Doctor claims radiology report was faulty, Sadia only had one child

After the death of her husband, Sadia remained sad but the ultrasound report about the twins, including a baby boy, gave her a new hope that she would soon become the mother of a son and a daughter.

Ms Imtiaz said the report of the ultrasound conducted at the radiology department of the DHQ hospital showed her daughter had twins, including a baby boy. But after the operation on Friday, the doctors said Sadia had a single pregnancy and the radiology report had mistakenly showed the twins.

“It is very strange. We have been visiting this hospital for the last nine months and all the reports, including the ultrasound, had confirmed that she had twins. But after the operation, the doctors and staff declared that there were no twins and she gave birth to a girl baby,” Ms Imtiaz told Dawn.

She claimed that her daughter had given birth to twins. “It is impossible for me to leave the hospital without taking the second baby. The hospital staff members have hid the baby boy,” she alleged.

“One can see the report of the ultrasound dated May 31, 2014, for the anomaly scan in which the radiologist had mentioned the presence of twins and also given their measurements,” she added.

She said she had been running from pillar to post but nobody was listening to her complaints. “I also visited the office of the medical superintendent thrice but he was not available,” she said.

When contacted, additional medical superintendent of DHQ hospital Irfan Khilji told Dawn that after the incident he had inquired from the doctors in the gynecology department but they said the ultrasound report was wrong and there was only one baby, not twins.

“It is not possible that the doctors and paramedical staff have hid the baby boy. More than 200 deliveries are conducted in the hospital and all the babies are handed over to their mothers without any delay. We have never seen such an incident in the DHQ hospital in the past.”

He said the ultrasound repot can be wrong. “Sometimes it also happens that the ultrasound shows a single baby but at the time of delivery it turns out to be twins. The machinery can be wrong,” he said, adding the administration would probe the matter.

When contacted, the head of the pathology department at the Rawalpindi Medical College, Professor Dr Abbas Hayat, said it was too early to blame anyone on the basis of ultrasound report which may be wrong.

He said a committee had been formed to probe the matter besides taking a second opinion of the radiologist. He said the radiologist would examine all the ultrasound reports and compile a report. “The machine is also run by human beings and there are chances of error if the administration and all the staff are of the view that there was only one baby, not twins,” he added.

Published in Dawn, July 20th, 2014