10-year-old Indian rape survivor to undergo C-section

'Child was already 32 weeks pregnant when checked, no scope of abortion', say doctors

A 10-year-old rape survivor, who is 35 weeks pregnant, is to undergo a Cesarian-section in the next couple of days, reports Hindustan Times.

The girl, who lives in Chandigarh, has allegedly been raped by her maternal uncle for seven months repeatedly. She complained of stomach ache weeks ago and after being checked, it was determined that she had been pregnant for 32 weeks at the time.



As she enters the 35^th week of her pregnancy, the doctors are increasingly concerned about her health. “Doctors are planning to perform elective (scheduled) Cesarean-section on the girl, as neither her pelvic bones are strong enough to push the baby nor she will be able to bear the labour pain (in case of natural delivery),” a highly placed source in the hospital told Hindustan Times.

The girl’s blood pressure reportedly shot up suddenly, but doctors managed to bring it under control. “The delivery will take place this week, most likely within a day or two,” said the hospital official. “Doctors were planning to operate on the child but her blood pressure shot up. So the delivery had to be delayed.”

However, the doctors confirm the child will be taken care of adequately. “The girl is fine,” said GMCH director-principal Dr AK Janmeja. “We have formed an experts team, which includes gynaecologists, paediatrician, psychiatrist, anaesthesiologist, dietician and experts from forensic medicine, to take care of the 10-year-old.”

Hearing a public interest litigation, the Supreme Court refused to allow the termination of her pregnancy on basis of a report submitted by a team of doctors from the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER).



The doctors stated, “We were asked to check whether it was safe for the child to continue the pregnancy and we had said “yes”, as the child was already 32 weeks pregnant. There was no scope of abortion. But, we had written that she was at a higher risk in comparison to adult women.”