CEBU CITY – A pregnant scavenger died after giving birth to a premature baby on a sidewalk here on Wednesday morning, August 14.
A PREGNANT scavenger died after giving birth to a premature baby girl on Wednesday morning, August 14, on General Maxilom Ave., Cebu City. (Contributed photo)
Mary Ann Tampos, 35, died hours after giving birth to a baby girl on General Maxilom Ave.
Witnesses said it was around 6 a.m. when Tampos, a resident of Barangay Tisa here, went into labor.
A group of pedestrians that included a nurse and a traffic enforcer assisted her.
As Tampos attempted several pushes, witnesses noticed that the baby had already turned red. Tampos successfully gave birth but the baby girl was already dead when she came out.
An ambulance arrived later on.
Medical workers, including a doctor, tried to bring the Tampos to the hospital but she resisted.
The medical team repeatedly convinced Tampos to go with them but to no avail. There were instances when the medical team tried to force the woman to board the ambulance but she would resist.
They decided to let Tampos sign a waiver as proof that she refused to be brought to the hospital.
Tampos died on the same spot where she had given birth at around 9 a.m. Massive blood loss was suspected to be the cause of the woman’s death.
A friend said that Tampos refused to be brought to the hospital as she did not have money to pay for her medical bills.
The doctor told Tampos that she did not have to pay for her hospital bills but she still refused, the friend said.