A baby died during an amniotic fluid test in Beijing Maternal & Child Health Care Hospital on Tuesday, March 22, 2011. User “Netizen Langman 365” posted the story on a Chinese forum (www.bato.cn):
Today, I took my wife to Beijing Maternal & Child Health Care Hospital in Yaojiayuan and I saw this drama in the hospital. A pregnant woman was doing amniotic fluid test days before and the baby was killed in the womb when the needle was inserted. After, the family tried to contact the hospital but failed. They put up a banner with details of the baby’s death in the hallway of the hospital, but the hospital still had no response.
See the original thread here [http://bbs.bato.cn/view.php?tid=4440803]
Netizens on tianya.com has different opinions:
Amniotic fluid test is very dangerous in itself. What woman doesn’t know about that? It might be a mistake by the doctor, or it might be a problem with the baby. My baby was delivered three months ago in the same hospital. Their attitude was very bad. If you don’t bribe them, you will be treated like a prisoner. See the original source here [http://bbs.city.tianya.cn/tianyacity/Content/5164/1/3642.shtml]
This issue has also drawn more attention to the amniotic fluid test (also called amniocentesis). It is part of prenatal examinations and used for testing if the baby has any chromosome or gene disorders. The amniotic fluid which is extracted by inserting a needle into the mother’s body. The process is supposed to be watched by type-B ultrasound to avoid injuring the baby. It is best to conduct the test between the 18th-22th week of pregnancy. A recent study says the risk of miscarriage after this test is only 0.06%.
Journalist Zhu Xudong from Xinhua.com visited Nanjing Gulou Hospital and his report is as follows:
Nanjing Gulou Hospital has used the newest technology, such as Fluorescence in Situ Hybridization (FISH) to test 100 cases of miscarriages and fetuses born dead and 40% of them were caused by chromosome disorders. Mothers who had previous miscarriages should have a test for Down syndrome during 18-22 weeks. If there is a problem, they should have an amniotic fluid test. See the original article here [http://news.xinhuanet.com/health/2011-03/23/c_121222985.htm]
However, there are still a lot of Chinese mothers – worried about an accident – who choose not to have the test.
