An obstetrician from Santa Fe was convicted of homicide and serious injuries related to two home births that resulted in the death of one patient and the loss of another's child, along with serious injuries. The sentence was handed down by judges Paula Álvarez, Florentino Malaponte, and Carlos Leiva at the Center for Criminal Justice. María Giménez received a sentence of 5 years of effective prison for culpable homicide and culpable injuries in actual concurrence as the author.
During the trial, it was revealed that in May 2015, Giménez attended to a patient at her home, assuring her that she could deliver the baby at home without significant risks to her life or that of her fetus. However, during the delivery, the woman's health suddenly deteriorated, and the obstetrician decided to transfer her to the hospital in her car. Tragically, the patient died on the way, and the death of the fetus and injuries to the woman's uterus were confirmed at the hospital.
A similar incident took place in March 2017, when Giménez again recommended a home birth to a patient without complications, the same information she had provided to the previously deceased woman. After several hours of labor, the patient's health deteriorated, and the obstetrician urgently took her to Eva Perón Hospital, where an emergency cesarean section was performed. Unfortunately, the fetus died, and the woman was diagnosed with serious injuries to the uterus.
After an extensive investigation, the obstetrician was sentenced to five years of effective prison, as well as ten years of disqualification from practicing medicine. This sentence comes almost a decade after the first incident, where medical negligence in home births resulted in fatal consequences and serious injuries for the patients involved.
