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Last update - 08:24 19/08/2008
Baby that 'came back to life' minutes before burial dies in mother's arms
By Jack Khoury, Haaretz Correspondent, and The Associated Press
Tags: Israel, stillborn, baby 

Doctors pronounced the death of a baby girl on Tuesday morning who survived six hours in a hospital morgue refrigerator after being declared stillborn on Monday.

Early Monday morning, a 26-year-old woman in her 23rd week of pregnancy arrived at the Western Galilee Hospital in Nahariya suffering from severe pains and hemorrhage.

A preliminary examination found that the fetus had no pulse, and the woman was rushed to the operating room to have the fetus removed. At the end of the procedure, a baby girl weighing 610 grams was retrieved.
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Showing no signs of life, she was pronounced dead by a senior doctor and taken to the morgue freezer. Hours later, when she was taken out to be prepared for burial, he mother noticed she was moving. She was rushed to the hospital's intensive care department and stayed there until her death.

The baby's father, Ali Majdub, had harsh criticism for the conduct of the hospital, telling Haaretz "we have many misgivings about the way the hospital handled the case."

"In my opinion, they were negligent in the speed with which they pronounced my daughter's death. It is curious how a 600-gram child, who is the size of the palm of my hand, comes back to life by herself," he said.

The father described how his wife realized the child was alive after asking to see her dead daughter one last time.

"When I came to the morgue to collect her, her body was wrapped up," he continued. "Then my wife, out of an inexplicable impulse, asked to see her again. At first, I didn't want to break her heart, but then I went up. When I got there, she realized she was moving."

Hospital director Dr. Massad Barhoum said the baby was breathing on her own. But he said her chances of survival are very, very slim because she was prematurely born in the 23rd week.

"There was one miracle, and we're hoping for another one," he said.

Asked whether negligence was involved, hospital deputy director Dr. Moshe Daniel said that the doctors were not too hasty in pronouncing the baby dead.

"It was a senior doctor. We passed all the findings to the Health Ministry, and they can launch an investigation if they deem appropriate," he said.

"From the start, the chances of survival were slim," he said after the baby was pronounced dead on Tuesday. It was later decided on Monday that an external investigative committee would be formed to look into the matter.


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      1.   HOLYLAND SEEN MIRACLES,BUT WHAT ABOUT BABIES KILLED BY TERROR? 16:58  |  THE VOICE))) 18/08/08
      2.   Live, my child 18:12  |  king of Israel 18/08/08
      3.   May God keep her well EOM 18:13  |  Ron Day 18/08/08
      4.   #2 sick 18:15  |  bashar 18/08/08
      5.   to #1 - a `Miracle?` 18:17  |  Jim Doctor 18/08/08
      6.   #1 what is it witrh you guys A hearty Mazel tov in order here 19:04  |  Big Sur 18/08/08
      7.   #8 Jim Doctor but I am sure you wished the best to the Mother 19:07  |  Big Sur 18/08/08
      8.   Praying for the baby girl and her mother 19:23  |  Palestinian in UK 18/08/08
      9.   #1: how about occupation? it also kills and destroys lives 19:24  |  bashar 18/08/08
      10.   Agree w/ #8, not a miracle but medical incompetence 19:25  |  Aphemia 18/08/08
      11.   my two cents 20:31  |  just me 18/08/08
      12.   Nah, you`re talking about terrorism, basher 20:45  |  x-ray 18/08/08
      13.   If I Was The Father,I`d Put Tefillin On Daily and Mezzuzahs on 20:45  |  Dan 18/08/08
      14.   RE #13: Don`t eat healthy to be healthy 22:06  |  Shimon 18/08/08
      15.   Every medical student can pronounce dead...it IS a miracle 22:11  |  Army MD 18/08/08
      16.   Let`s note that here Arab and Jews MD work together 22:12  |  Alain 18/08/08
      17.   Jim Doctor - horror of medical practice in the USA 22:22  |  ChanahS 18/08/08
      18.   Precious Life 23:38  |  Hadassah 18/08/08
      19.   Did the freezer save her? 00:44  |  Stephen K 19/08/08
      20.   What the Hell is Wrong with you guys? 00:54  |  Persian Kitty 19/08/08
      21.   I would first go to the Torah and say the prayer "Gomel" then 00:55  |  Dave 19/08/08
      22.   What initial effort went into resuscitation? 01:09  |  Maureen Ann 19/08/08
      23.   THE official British view from Nuffield Council of Bioethics 08:41  |  PETER SM 19/08/08
      24.   Wake up again, my child 13:37  |  king of Israel 19/08/08
      25.   I`m so sorry to hear she didin`t make it 13:54  |  Patty 19/08/08
      26.   God bless the little one and her parents 15:06  |  wibism 19/08/08
      27.   Appalled & ashamed 15:55  |  Victoria 19/08/08
      28.   An Important Lesson. DELAY Taking Anyone to the Morgue Freezer! 16:23  |  Linda Rivera 19/08/08
      29.   # 28 Linda is right 23:15  |  Ines 19/08/08
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