Four maternal deaths in 15 days in Kota: Pushpa Bairwa, 28, latest victim
Synopsis
Kota has now lost four women to childbirth complications in just 15 days — and this is not the first cluster. After five deaths in May following Caesarean deliveries, the district's emergency obstetric care is once again under the scanner. Pushpa Bairwa was 28, a first-time mother, and dead within days of delivering a healthy baby girl.
Key Takeaways
Pushpa Bairwa , 28 , died on Monday night at the Super Speciality Hospital, Kota Medical College from postpartum haemorrhage, DIC and respiratory failure.
She is the fourth maternal death reported in Kota, Rajasthan within 15 days .
The three earlier deaths: Reshma (40) on 16 October , Roshan Bairwa on 17 October , and Shabnam Bano (26) on 25 October .
Pushpa delivered a healthy baby girl in Jhalawar on 27 October before severe bleeding prompted a referral to Kota.
In May , Kota recorded a similar cluster: 12 women suffered kidney failure after Caesarean deliveries, with five deaths .
Experts and observers are questioning emergency obstetric capacity, referral systems and blood bank access in the region.
Kota, Rajasthan has recorded its fourth maternal death in 15 days after Pushpa Bairwa, a 28-year-old first-time mother from Baran district, died on Monday night at the Super Speciality Hospital of Kota Medical College. She succumbed to severe postpartum haemorrhage that triggered Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation (DIC) and eventual respiratory failure, despite intensive treatment by specialists across multiple departments. The successive deaths have drawn sharp attention to the state of emergency obstetric care in the region.
How Pushpa Bairwa's condition deteriorated
Pushpa had delivered a healthy baby girl through a normal delivery at a hospital in Jhalawar on 27 October. Within barely an hour of childbirth, she began experiencing severe and uncontrollable bleeding. Doctors at the Jhalawar facility administered five to six units of blood in an attempt to control the haemorrhage, but the bleeding could not be brought under control. She was subsequently referred to Kota for advanced care.
At the Super Speciality Hospital, she was admitted to the ICU of the Nephrology Department and placed on ventilator support. Dr Vikas Khandelia, Head of the Nephrology Department, explained that Pushpa had developed DIC — a serious condition that disrupts the body's normal blood-clotting mechanism, triggering life-threatening bleeding throughout the body. Continuous blood loss caused her blood pressure to fall sharply, compromising both kidney and lung function.
Her platelet count and haemoglobin levels dropped significantly. Following dialysis and other interventions, her kidney function showed some improvement, with urine output reaching approximately three litres per day. However, her lungs continued to deteriorate and she developed severe respiratory distress, making it impossible to wean her off ventilator support. Specialists from Internal Medicine, Cardiology, Anaesthesia, Pulmonology and Gynaecology were all involved in her care, but she could not be saved.
The three earlier deaths in Kota
Pushpa's death is the fourth in a troubling cluster of maternal fatalities in the district. Reshma (40) died on 16 October due to kidney failure following a Caesarean section. The next day, 17 October, Roshan Bairwa died after excessive bleeding following a Caesarean. On 25 October, Shabnam Bano (26), a resident of Chhabra in Baran district, died at JK Lon Hospital — two days after a Caesarean delivery on 23 October.
Across all four cases, postpartum haemorrhage, organ damage and delayed access to specialised intervention emerge as recurring factors.
A pattern that predates this fortnight
This is not the first time Kota has faced an alarming cluster of childbirth-related complications. Between 5 May and 7 May, several women developed serious health complications following Caesarean deliveries. A total of 12 women reportedly suffered kidney failure during that period; five of them died, while the remaining patients recovered and were discharged. The recurrence of such cases raises questions that go beyond individual medical outcomes.
What the deaths reveal about emergency obstetric care
Postpartum haemorrhage is a recognised medical emergency that demands immediate intervention. Left uncontrolled, it can cause severe blood loss, multi-organ damage and fatal complications such as DIC. Medical experts note that timely access to blood transfusions, early diagnosis and efficient referral systems are critical to preventing such deaths.
The repeated fatalities in Kota have brought scrutiny to the entire chain of care: emergency response capacity, referral arrangements between district and tertiary hospitals, blood bank availability and the management of complications after delivery. The precise circumstances of each death are yet to be established through formal medical investigations, but the pattern itself signals systemic gaps that authorities will be pressed to address.
Point of View
In which five women died after Caesarean complications, should have triggered a root-cause audit; the fact that a near-identical pattern has recurred in November suggests it did not, or that any corrective action was insufficient. Postpartum haemorrhage is a preventable cause of death when blood products, trained staff and timely referrals are in place. That Pushpa Bairwa bled for hours in Jhalawar before being moved to Kota — with the outcome still fatal — points to gaps at both ends of the referral chain, not just the tertiary facility. Rajasthan's health administration owes the public a transparent investigation, not just departmental assurances.
NationPress
11 Nov 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Pushpa Bairwa and how did she die?
Pushpa Bairwa was a 28-year-old first-time mother from Baran district, Rajasthan, who died on Monday night at the Super Speciality Hospital of Kota Medical College. She developed severe postpartum haemorrhage shortly after a normal delivery in Jhalawar on 27 October, which led to Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation (DIC) and ultimately respiratory failure despite intensive treatment.
How many maternal deaths have been reported in Kota in November 2026?
Four maternal deaths have been reported in Kota within a 15-day window. The deaths of Reshma, Roshan Bairwa, Shabnam Bano and Pushpa Bairwa occurred between 16 October and 10 November, with postpartum haemorrhage and organ failure as recurring causes.
What is Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation (DIC) and why is it dangerous?
DIC is a serious condition in which the body's blood-clotting mechanism is severely disrupted, causing uncontrolled bleeding throughout the body. In obstetric cases it is often triggered by massive postpartum haemorrhage, and it can rapidly lead to multi-organ failure — including kidney and lung damage — and death if not treated immediately.
Has Kota seen similar maternal death clusters before?
Yes. Between 5 May and 7 May 2026, Kota recorded a comparable cluster in which 12 women reportedly developed kidney failure following Caesarean deliveries, and five of them died. The recurrence of such cases has intensified concerns about whether systemic issues in the district's emergency obstetric care have been adequately addressed.
What are the key gaps being identified in the response to these deaths?
Observers and medical experts have pointed to shortcomings in emergency response capacity, timely referrals between district and tertiary hospitals, blood bank availability and the management of post-delivery complications. Formal medical investigations into the precise circumstances of each death are yet to conclude.
