Malappuram: Health authorities have begun an inquiry into allegations of medical lapses following the death of a 24-year-old woman who developed severe complications after childbirth at a private hospital in Kondotty. The deceased has been identified as Reem Sithara, wife of P Muhammad Wasim of Mariyad in Manjeri.

Malappuram District Medical Office informed that a preliminary inquiry had been conducted by the office following the allegation. Since the woman died at a private hospital in Kozhikode, the Kozhikode District Medical Officer would conduct a further inquiry.

It was on Friday night that Reem Sithara gave birth to a baby boy at a private hospital in Kondotty. According to her relatives, hospital authorities later informed them that she had developed excessive bleeding following the delivery and advised that she be shifted to a higher centre for expert treatment.

She was subsequently taken to a private hospital in Kozhikode, where her condition deteriorated and she died in the early hours of Saturday. Her newborn baby is undergoing treatment at the Government Medical College Hospital in Manjeri.

The woman’s relatives alleged that negligence on the part of the Kondotty hospital authorities during the delivery led to her death.