Chennai Couple Faces Police Case After Home Delivery Guided by WhatsApp Group
In Chennai, a couple conducted a home delivery based on advice from a WhatsApp group with over 1,000 members, avoiding medical consultations entirely. Following the birth, health officials lodged a complaint, citing breaches of medical safety norms. The police are investigating the couple and the group's activities.
A Chennai couple has landed in a police case after allegedly delivering their newborn baby at home, as advised by a WhatsApp group instead of availing professional medical help. The couple consists of 36-year-old Manoharan and his 32-year-old wife Sukanya, who had taken the advice of a WhatsApp group, named "Home Birth Experience," giving them guidance on how to deliver babies at home. Over 1,000 people have reportedly participated in the group.
It is said that during Sukanya's third pregnancy, the couple avoided any medical checkup and relied only on the information obtained from the group. On November 17, when labor pains started, they avoided going to the hospital. Manoharan attended to his wife in delivering the baby at home with instructions from the group.
The incident came to the fore after local public health authorities got wind of the delivery. A complaint was lodged with Kundrathur Police Station alleging a breach in medical safety norms. Authorities pointed out that Manoharan's moves were against key health norms, hence possibly endangering both the newborn baby and the mother.
Thereafter, the WhatsApp group was also discovered during questioning by the police, so further scrutiny of the group's activities and its advice is underway.
