​Public health inspectors have launched an investigation at a maternity hospital in Arad, where a 25-year-old woman and her baby, who was born by caesarean section, died on Tuesday. Doctors claim that the patient was taken to the emergency hospital in serious condition due to a severe respiratory infection.

A pregnant woman was taken to the obstetrics and gynecology department of the district hospital on Monday because she was breathing hard and had a fever.

“An ambulance brought him to the hospital, at home he had a fever, headache, cough and shortness of breath when coughing. Her colleagues took her, especially since the pregnancy was due, and since she was in a damaged state, they kept her in the ward. During the course of antibiotic treatment, her condition partially improved, but unfortunately, at night, around 4:30, her shortness of breath worsened, due to which she was taken to the intensive care unit and the patient’s condition was stabilized. Her condition was good until about 7:30 a.m., when the entire team decided to perform an emergency C-section for both the fetus and the mother to help the patient breathe. During the intervention, the child could not be saved, it was not possible to resuscitate, although there were attempts. Later, the mother suffered a cardiac arrest, which was resuscitated by the operating team, and two hours after the end of the operation, the patient died,” said the head doctor of the department, Gheorghe Furau, quoted by Agerpres, on Tuesday.

He clarified that the pregnancy was not recorded by any doctor, since the woman returned to the country from Belgium three weeks ago.

According to the head of the maternity hospital, the cause of death of the young woman and child was bronchopneumonia of viral etiology, SARS-CoV-2 infection was excluded according to the results of the tests.

“A sanitary inspection team will go to the hospital to check the conditions under which this event took place. As soon as we receive the pathology results from the forensic examination, a commission will be formed and procedures will be followed,” Arad Health Authority director Cecilia Irimi said on Tuesday.

The deceased young woman was from the city of Santana and had two other children.