A woman referred to the San Fernando General Hospital to undergo an emergency Caesarean Section lost the child after she was examined and told the baby did not need to be delivered immediately.

Simone Crichlow-Taylor, 27, said she then had to beg doctors to remove the dead foetus, after they told her it could remain in the womb without a problem for six weeks.

Her husband, Kervon Taylor, has filed a complaint with the South West Regional Health Authority (SWRHA) and is seeking legal advice.

"This is negligence at the highest level. My wife had a perfect pregnancy. There were no complications," said Taylor, an ambulance driver of Cameron Trace, Buenos Ayres, Erin, yesterday.

Taylor said his wife was two weeks overdue when she began experiencing abdominal and back pains on Carnival Tuesday.

"We went to our private doctor and he advised that we do an ultrasound. We did the ultrasound and the doctor said the baby was too big and there was not enough room inside her to move around. The doctor wrote a letter for her to be admitted to the hospital for an emergency C-Section," he said.

Crichlow-Taylor went to the health institution last week Thursday, but doctors allegedly said her baby was in no danger. An ultrasound showed that the baby boy was active and there was no need for the emergency procedure, Taylor, 28, said.

"The next day the doctors tried to get a trace on the baby's heart, but the machine was not working. So they did an ultrasound and they got a heartbeat. They said the baby was already over ten pounds. They were just monitoring her," he said.

Crichlow-Taylor, a housewife, was taken for a second ultrasound the following day, after complaining that there were no movements.

"The doctor said the baby had died. I cannot understand how a perfectly well baby died," Taylor said.

However, the dead baby was not immediately removed.

"It was not until we begged and begged for the doctors to do a surgery to take out the dead baby. The doctor told me that her case was not an emergency and the dead baby can stay inside her for six weeks," Taylor said.

The dead baby, named Gianni, was removed on Sunday morning. He weighed 15 pounds. A post-mortem is expected to be performed tomorrow.

Taylor said, "I filed a complaint at the hospital and I am seeking legal advice. My wife is traumatised. It was not her fault."

Paula Chester-Cumberbatch, SWRHA's chief executive officer, said yesterday she was aware of the incident. "The SWRHA views with concern the feedback from the baby's relatives with respect to treatment at the hospital, and wishes to assure them that the matter will be looked into. In this regard, the SWRHA will contact the family to discuss their concerns and will provide all necessary counselling in this situation," she said.