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It was supposed to be a two-day hospital stay and at the end of it, a baby in their arms.
However, for five women at Kota's New Medical College Hospital (NMCH), it has turned into a harrowing tale of misery and financial ruin and endless rounds of dialysis as they continue to battle kidney infection suffered after their C-section delivery.
"She is terrified of the word dialysis now," said Mohan Lal, whose wife, Dhanni Suman, has been at the hospital since the first week of May.
"Within an hour of starting the process, she begins vomiting, shivering violently and has a high fever. She cannot eat anything on those days," he told PTI at the hospital.
The women have undergone 32 rounds of dialysis in the past 68 days. Five other women, at NMCH and JK Lone Hospital, have also died over complications following a caesarean delivery.
The families of the women on Monday submitted a memorandum to district authorities, demanding a concrete timeline for kidney transplants, giving them a desperate 48-hour ultimatum.
"We cannot watch them suffer like this anymore. If they do not give us a written assurance for kidney transplants within 48 hours, we will stop bringing them for dialysis and let them die. We are living like walking corpses," Mohan Lal added.
Ragini Meena, a 29-year-old woman, is now entirely dependent on dialysis to stay alive. "My sister came here to deliver a baby, expecting to stay for just two days," Vikas said. "Today, she cannot survive even 24 hours without dialysis. Every 48 hours, she has to undergo the procedure." Ragini's husband, Lokesh, who worked at a finance company lost his job and the family is surviving entirely on borrowed money, Vikas said.
Mohan Lal, a cab driver, also had to sell his sole source of livelihood -- his taxi -- to attend to his wife at the hospital.
"Keeping up with the expenses became impossible. I had to sell my taxi. Now, even those funds are almost completely exhausted," he said.
Their baby, born on May 8, is under the care of a relative. They have two other children, aged 5 and 10, who are with their grandmother at home.
Pinki Aerwal's husband, Naresh, said the government has shut its eyes to the plight of the women and their families. Their child delivered on May 8 at JK Lone Hospital died shortly after delivery.
"They gave Rs 5 lakh to the families of those who died, as if a human life is only worth that much," Naresh lamented, referring to monetary assistance provided by Lok Sabha Speaker and local MP Om Birla to women who died due to the infection.
"What about those who are trapped in between, the ones who are dying slowly every single day?" he asked.
The families of the women, which include Aarti Chopdar and Sushila Mahawar, have demanded accountability and immediate, life-saving intervention from the state machinery.
District administration and NMCH authorities did not respond to calls and messages.
The Rajasthan government have ordered a probe into the post-delivery complications at Kota hospitals. Certain drugs in supply but not directly linked to postpartum complications were found to be substandard and have been banned. Cases of maternal deaths have also been reported from Bikaner, Bhilwara and Banswara.
Published on July 15, 2026
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