Newborn Dies Hours After Birth in Hospital in Sofia

A newborn baby died nearly two hours after birth at Okrazhna (the District) Hospital in Sofia, his relatives in Ihtiman said on February 19.

According to the family, the baby — weighing over three kilograms — was delivered by planned Caesarean section.

They say doctors later reported that the newborn had heart and lung complications and attempted to transfer the child to the specialised maternity hospital Maychin Dom. The baby’s father claims that during the transfer the oxygen cylinder became detached. At around 15:00, relatives were informed that the baby had died. They subsequently called the police, and investigators arrived at the hospital building at about 18:00.

Bozhidarka Dimitrova, the baby’s grandmother, said:

“They took the baby out — there was no cardiac activity, and then they revived him. They began transporting him to Maychin Dom, but the nurses hit the trolley against a wall and the oxygen cylinder burst, and the baby stopped breathing. They panicked, pushed the trolley back, moved him, and about half an hour later came out and said that the baby had died.”

The hospital has so far declined to comment publicly. Speaking by telephone, a hospital spokesperson said that shortly after 13:00 a three-kilogram baby boy had been delivered by Caesarean section but immediately showed breathing difficulties, with lungs that had not fully expanded.

The 17-year-old mother is in good condition. The hospital has launched an internal investigation.