The prosecutor's office has joined the investigation of a case in which a woman in labor from Varna lost her baby just two days before giving birth. An inspection of "Medical Supervision" in three obstetric and gynecological hospitals in the city also continues. The results of the analysis of the medical documentation and the baby's autopsy are awaited.
Meanwhile, another woman from Varna told NOVA about a similar case from her first pregnancy in 2022. Ivona Bozhkova is already the mother of an 8-month-old girl, but years ago she lost her unborn son days before the due date.
Ivona chooses to be monitored by Dr. Atanas Tsonev and the private hospital "Maichin Dom" in Varna. The doctor performs the last fetal morphology, and she informs him that she has thrombophilia, high blood pressure and early contractions. “With fetal morphology, a document is filled out, which certifies that there is no problem with the fetus. It reassured me that everything is fine“, Ivona said.
According to her, during the last month of pregnancy, she was not assigned additional examinations and monitoring of fetal sounds. At that time, Dr. Tsonev was on leave. “I asked who would monitor me, because I knew that in the ninth month, the examinations should be more frequent. He told me not to worry, to rest and wait for the birth to begin“, she shared.
A week before the due date, Ivona stopped feeling the baby's movements and urgently went to the “Machin Dom“. “The worst thing I thought was that maybe the umbilical cord was wrapped around him. It never crossed my mind that he had been struggling and was no longer alive“, she said.
After doctors determined that the fetus had died in utero, according to Ivona, they offered her a medication to induce contractions and let her go home, with labor likely to begin in a few days. “I couldn't imagine that they had just told me that there was a dead fetus inside me and that they were ready to let me go. I was just crying and praying that someone would take me in so that this hell would end“, she shared.
In the end, Ivona was admitted to the UMBAL “St. Anna“, where the next morning she gives birth to her stillborn child.
“Maternal Home“ denies sending patients home when intrauterine death is established. The medical facility specifies that after the initiation of medical induction of labor, the patient remains under medical supervision until the delivery is completed and her condition stabilizes.
The autopsy shows that the baby suffered cerebral edema, one massive and three smaller heart attacks. Later, Ivona also learned that she had a fibroid measuring about 10 centimeters, which she claims she was not informed about.
The doctor who followed Ivona at the beginning of the pregnancy - Dr. Daniela Vasileva, refuses to comment on the medical documentation, but points out that intrauterine death can be the result of acute, suddenly occurring and unpredictable conditions.
Dr. Atanas Tsonev, who performed the last fetal morphology and undertook to perform the birth, stated that he was not the following doctor. According to him, about 26 days passed between his last meeting with the patient and the loss of the baby. “I do not have information whether other ultrasound or Doppler examinations were performed during this time, what the blood pressure values were, whether there were edemas, changes in laboratory parameters or other complaints“, Tsonev indicated.