Woman ‘gives birth on her own,’ dies

CEBU, Philippines - A woman died at the hospital  two hours after she allegedly gave birth to a child on her own at her house in Ridgedale Subdivision in Barangay Talamban, Cebu City on Wednesday.

The fatality was identified as Maribeth Tacda, 35, a native of Negros, and temporarily staying at the subdivision where she works as a caretaker of one of the lots. She has four children with her husband, who works as a taxi driver.

According to Police Officer 3 Jerry Genelaso of Cebu City Homicide Section, at around 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Tacda’s sister Imelda Hechenova, 47, noticed her to be very pale and weak.

Hechenova became more worried after she noticed blood oozing from Tacda’s genitals before Tacda had fainted.

 This prompted them to rush Tacda to the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center.

After examination on Tacda, the doctor told Hechenova that her sister had just delivered a baby.

However, Genelaso said, this surprised Hechenova since she never knew that her sister was pregnant or that she just gave birth to a baby.

Genelaso said the doctor and Hechenova asked Tacda, who was then still able to speak, questions about the pregnancy, to which Tacda vehemently denied.

Hechenova ended up going to the house of her sister where they saw inside the comfort room a black plastic pail filled with water and blood.

Their brother, Gilbert Longcob, poured out the bloodied water and, to their shock, saw a dead fetus, which was about eight to nine months old, wrapped in a bath towel.

Genelaso said they suspect that the baby Tacda just delivered is not of her husband. He said she was probably afraid to tell the truth and delivered the baby on her own, but her body eventually gave in.

She died after two hours inside the hospital.

Genelaso said they also found out that even Tacda’s husband did not know that she was pregnant.  (FREEMAN)