Midwife accidentally severs newborn's finger while cutting umbilical cord in China

The infant's father, surnamed Sheng, said in a social media post last week that during his wife's caesarean section at the People's Hospital of Xuyi County in Huai'an City, a midwife accidentally cut off part of their son's left middle finger.

According to Jimu News, the baby underwent surgery to have the finger reattached, but continues to experience difficulty raising his hand and frequently wakes up crying in pain at night.

A screenshot from a photo circulating on social media shows an adult holds the reattached finger of a newborn baby boy in China's Jiangsu Province. Photo from Weibo

The Xuyi County Health Commission issued an official statement on Monday confirming the incident.

It said that on Dec. 25, a woman surnamed Zhang delivered a baby boy by caesarean section at the county hospital. During the procedure, a serious error by the attending midwife resulted in part of the infant's left middle finger being cut, China Daily reported.

The hospital immediately contacted several medical institutions and later transferred the newborn to another facility, where surgery was performed the same day. The infant was discharged on Dec. 31 and is currently recovering.

The health commission said the midwife involved has been suspended. The hospital has issued repeated formal apologies to the family and pledged to cover all medical treatment and rehabilitation costs for the child.

According to The Standard, the commission said the incident exposed shortcomings in the hospital's medical safety management, adding that those responsible would be held accountable. A countywide inspection of medical safety practices has also been ordered.