2025-05-22
BERLIN/ COPENHAGEN - Two people have died in childbirth - a mother and her baby - after taking a controversial labour-inducing drug called Angusta. Was the drug to blame? That was the question that led to this investigation.
Both mothers were given Angusta when they were already in labour, which is against the drug's instructions. Many hospitals in Germany still use it in this way, causing serious complications.
The cross-border team spoke to families, midwives and doctors affected, and reviewed studies. One midwife reported a sharp increase in emergency caesareans after using the drug's active ingredient, but her concerns were dismissed. She says she is under pressure to administer Angusta even during active labour.
Angusta's troubled history dates back to Denmark, where it was approved under questionable circumstances and then spread across Europe.
The investigation found that the drug should never have been approved because a key trial failed. Yet hundreds of women in Germany receive it every day to induce labour. How is this possible?
Photo credit: Anna Ziegler
Supported
€10,310 allocated on 29/10/2024ID
ECB/2024/PLUPRO/1022Tags
PUBLICATIONS
- Die Nacht, in der sie Eva verloren, Zeit Magazin, 21/05/2025
- Cytotec, das nie für Geburten zugelassen war, landet im Kreisssaal. Die betroffenen Frauen erheben schwerste Vorwürfe, Reportagen, #83 July 2025
DOCUMENTARY
- Tod im Kreißsaal, ZDF, 28/05/2025
COUNTRIES
- Germany
- Denmark
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