China Health & Science
Chinese Baby Girl’s Birth Defect Raises Discussion on Prenatal Screening Accuracy
The birth of an infant with physical abnormalities, despite recurrent prenatal screenings, has sparked discussions on Chinese social media. A running investigation will reveal whether the hospital can be held accountable.
A Chinese baby girl has made the news after she was born with birth defects, despite 8 prenatal screenings allegedly showing no health problems in the unborn infant.
On August 26, the 26-year-old Youping Lin from Shenzhen gave birth to a baby girl. Although the woman told Chinese media the labor went well, she was shocked to learn her newborn had severe psychical abnormalities, with the right side of the face missing the nostril and ear. The baby’s right eye is also closed, Lin said.
The baby girl, born in Shenzhen on August 26.
According to The Paper and Legal Evening News (November 8), the girl’s birth defects nearly made her mother “collapse” and has made her clinically depressed.
“In a total of 8 prenatal screenings and 5 ultrasounds, doctors repeatedly told Lin that the unborn baby was perfectly normal.”
In a total of 8 prenatal screenings and 5 ultrasounds, doctors told Lin that the unborn baby was perfectly normal.
A running investigation by a third party institution [not further defined in Chinese media reports] will reveal if the hospital can be held accountable for the baby’s birth defects.
Youping Lin got pregnant in late 2015 and went for her first prenatal testing in February of 2016 at the Futian Renmin Hospital in Shenzhen. The ultrasounds included one 3D ultrasound. At the time, the view on the right side of the unborn baby’s face was blocked by its own hand. Nevertheless, doctors told the mother the unborn baby was completely normal.
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According to The Paper, hospital representatives have stated that they have used all possible prenatal screenings to detect abnormalities. They also said that although it is extremely rare for birth defects such as these to go unnoticed in prenatal screenings, they cannot be completely ruled out.
A similar news story also came out earlier this year, when a woman gave birth to a baby that was missing one arm. The distressed mother told reporters that repeated ultrasounds also did not spot the fact that her unborn baby had a birth defect.
“In China, approximately 900,000 infants are born with a birth defect or disability every year.”
Worldwide, 6% of annual live births are affected by birth defects. China has a relatively high occurrence; approximately 900,000 infants are born with a birth defect or disability every year, which is around 5.6% of total newborns (Liu et al 2016, 3615). Pregnancy affected by serious anomalies is allowed to be terminated at any time of the pregnancy in the People’s Republic of China (Deng et al 2015, 312).
On the Sina Weibo social media platform, the case has led to a discussion on who is responsible for the child’s physical abnormalities.
Many commenters think that the hospital is responsible: “The fact that the doctor said the unborn child was normal, even while the right side of the face was blocked by its hand, shows that they had a low sense of responsibility; that was just wishful thinking,” one netizen comments.
“After 8 prenatal screenings, this did not come out?!”, another Weibo user comments.
As reported by The Paper, hospital representatives have admitted that doctors would normally do a second 3D ultrasound if the fetus is not fully visible in the first one, but that this was not done in the case of Youping Lin.
“Poor baby girl! Is there no way to do plastic surgery? The doctors should help,” one commenter says.
“This is up for the law to decide. Who ever is responsible should take responsibility,” another Weibo user comments.
“But how can this be compensated for?” another netizen wonders: “In the end, it is the child and its family that will suffer. What kind of compensation will lessen their suffering?” Others also agree, writing: “What does it matter who is responsible? What matters is what will happen to this girl.”
“Some families consider their disabled child a shameful secret to be hidden.”
Giving birth to a child with severe physical abnormalities and/or disability has a huge impact on Chinese parents and families. People with disabilities are often stigmatized in China. A large number of disabled young children have no access to education because schools refuse to accept them.
Due to the ubiquitous stigmatization and discrimination, some families even consider their disabled child a “shameful secret to be hidden” (Coonan 2016).
Another major burden to Chinese households living with a child with a birth defect or disability is that it greatly affects their living standard. Without access to public welfare, medical treatments can be very costly or even unaffordable to some families. In Disability Policy in China (2016), the director of a large State Child Welfare institution is quoted telling about a 4-year-old girl that was abandoned at the Tianjin Railway station; the institution’s staff found that the girl had already had two major surgeries and that she needed just one more operation in order to survive (Mendes & Srighantan 2009, 1).
With such heavy burdens, many expecting parents will choose to terminate pregnancies when the unborn baby is diagnosed with a birth defect. In the case of Down Syndrome, around 95% of Chinese women terminate their pregnancy after learning the syndrome is detected in the fetus.
China’s Ministry of Health has promoted nationwide prenatal screenings for birth defects since 2003 (Deng et al 2015, 312). As pointed out in recent Chinese research, there has since been a sharp increase in the percentage of prenatal diagnosis and consequential birth termination (ibid., 315).
“Poor baby, I hope the parents will not ignore her and take care of her.”
Many Chinese netizens reflect on this news story and think about their own family. Discussions about the ethical issue of possible abortion for fetal abnormality, that is more prevalent in western countries, seem practically absent on Chinese social media. One of the main issues under discussion is the cost of prenatal screenings and their trustworthiness – this story concerned many mothers-to-be: “As an expectant mother, this news really worries me,” one woman replies.
Another person writes: “I am so very happy my baby is healthy. I also feel bad for this family that will be so burdened from now on, poor girl.”
“Poor baby, I hope the parents will not ignore her and take care of her,” one commenter says. Other Weibo users are also concerned about the girl’s future: “What will her life look like? She will endure much pain, just as her parents.”
– By Manya Koetse
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References
Coonan, Clifford. 2016. “Paralympic success challenges China’s attitude to disability.” Irish Times (October 3) http://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/asia-pacific/paralympic-success-challenges-china-s-attitude-to-disability-1.2813993 [8.11.16].
Deng, C., Yi, L., Mu, Y., Zhu, J., Qin, Y., Fan, X., Li, Q. & Dai, L. 2015. “Recent trends in the birth prevalence of Down syndrome in China: impact of prenatal diagnosis and subsequent terminations.” Prenatal Diagnosis, 35(4): 311–318.
Liu, Q.-G., Sun, J., Xiao, X., & Song, G.-R. 2016. “Birth Defects Data from Surveillance Hospitals in Dalian City, China, 2006-2010.” The Journal of Maternal-Fetal & Neonatal Medicine, 7058 (November): 1–22.
Mendes, Errol, and Sakunthala Srighantan (ed). 2009. Confronting Discrimination and Inequality in China: Chinese and Canadian Perspectives. Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press.
NB: other references are linked to in-text.
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China Health & Science
Cancer Diagnoses in Young Doctors at Same Lab: About the Zhongshan Hospital Controversy
Within a short time frame, three Chinese young doctors received cancer diagnoses after working in the same laboratory at the Zhongshan Second Affiliated Hospital.
Over the past week, a case of three young doctors working in the same laboratory at a renowned Guangzhou hospital being diagnosed with a rare form of cancer has repeatedly become a trending topic on Weibo and beyond.
The hospital involved is the Sun Yat-Sen University’s Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital (中山大学孙逸仙纪念医院) – also known as the Zhongshan Second Affiliated Hospital (中山二院). Founded in 1835, the hospital is known for pioneering in western medical practice. It is also well-known for its cancer treatments and education.
The three medical workers, two breast surgeons and one trainee doctor, all developed cancer just before or in 2023 after working at the Breast Cancer Center (乳腺肿瘤中心实验室). The issue first became a big topic of discussion around the night of November 6 and on November 7, when netizens’ posts started circulating on social media about how several people connected to the oncology lab got diagnosed with cancer.
One of the claims made is that one of the young doctors was expelled from the research team’s WeChat group by the team leader Dr. Su Shicheng (苏士成) upon revealing her cancer diagnosis. This assertion was later confirmed to reporters by the woman’s sister, Lele (乐乐). The staff member involved, Huang Mei (黄敏), is battling pancreatic cancer and she is currently not doing well.
The other researchers, all approximately 30 years old, are suffering from synovial sarcoma and breast cancer.
The topic soon gained traction as people assumed the lab safety at the Zhongshan Hospital must be blamed for the cancer cases. When the research center in question suddenly got dismantled on November 8, the discussions intensified as social media users speculated that the hospital was trying to get rid of evidence.
The hospital denied that the medical workers had contracted cancer due to exposure in the lab environment. Staff members later claimed that the alleged dismantling of the lab on November 8 was already scheduled as part of the fire department’s orders, emphasizing that it was unrelated to the ongoing controversy.
Photos of the lab getting dismantled shared on Weibo.
On November 9, the China Association for Science and Technology (中国科学技术协会) posted on their official social media account, calling for a thorough and professional investigation into the case to uncover the truth.
Online Anger and Suspicions
Chinese political commentator Hu Xijin (@胡锡进) also posted a lengthy column about the issue on his social media. In his post, Hu critiqued the manner in which Zhongshan Second Affiliated Hospital handled the controversy. Although he also stressed that he did not necessarily believe that the renowned hospital purposely crossed scientific ethics that might have increased cancer risks for students working in the laboratory-if their cancer is indeed related to their working environment,- he argued that the hospital should handle this case with greater transparency.
According to the Shanghai Morning Post (@新闻晨报), the laboratory was first opened in 2009 and has since trained more than 200 students. The three cancer patients have only started working at the laboratory in recent years.
Various international studies (e.g. here, here, here) have previously indicated that research in biomedical laboratories might involve an increased risk of certain types of cancer among employees.
While some Weibo commenters voice concerns about safety protocols at the hospital lab, the prevailing online anger is more about how the hospital is handling the situation. There is a sense that those involved are being silenced, that evidence is being tampered with, and that there is a special relationship between the lab team leader, Dr. Su Shicheng, and the hospital director, Song Erwei (宋尔卫).
Adding to the suspicions, Dr. Su not only works directly under Song as a deputy director of the Breast Cancer Center but has also co-authored an academic essay with Song’s son, Song Shijian (宋世键). Some people believe they are all covering for each other.
“If they [the hospital] finally holds a press conference, they’d better invite Ms. Huang who was kicked out of the WeChat group!” some commenters on Weibo wrote.
Meanwhile, there is an increased media focus in China on the lab safety protocols at other hospitals as well. With Chinese media outlets interviewing medical students from other institutions, it has come to light that many say they have never actually received formal training regarding lab safety rules (#5位医学生眼中的实验室#, #多数受访学生称未接受实验室安全培训#).
As attention on the Zhongshan Second Affiliated Hospital case intensifies from various fronts, including the public, media, and medical associations, the pressure on the hospital is mounting to provide a clear and transparent response to the situation.
While many might wish for this case to fade away, this storm is not going to blow over anytime soon. Beyond the public’s need for answers, it is the medical workers who are struggling with their illness and navigating through this whirlwind who especially deserve the clarity they need.
“Let’s build up the pressure,” some netizens suggest, trying to keep the case trending.
“I’m so disappointed,” another Weibo user wrote: “I was determined to study medicine since senior high school, but the older I get the more I realize the ugly face behind the healthcare system.”
By Manya Koetse
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