Pregnant 33-year-old dies with unborn daughter after hospital discharge in Castellammare
Greta Astarita, 33, and her unborn daughter died at the San Leonardo hospital in Castellammare di Stabia after she had been sent home from a first visit. Prosecutors in Torre Annunziata have opened an inquiry.
Greta Astarita, 33, of Piano di Sorrento, died with her unborn daughter at the San Leonardo hospital in Castellammare di Stabia, and prosecutors in Torre Annunziata have opened an inquiry into the case. She was seven months pregnant and already the mother of a young son.
First hospital visit
According to the family's account to police, Astarita went to the San Leonardo hospital on Friday evening with severe pain in the groin. Doctors carried out a series of tests and judged that her condition did not require admission, so she was sent home. Reports differ on how quickly her condition changed afterwards: some say the pain returned within a few hours, while others put the collapse about two hours after the first visit. She lost consciousness in front of her relatives, who then called for emergency help again.
Return to hospital and the deaths
She was taken back to the San Leonardo hospital in critical condition. Doctors tried to stabilise her and to save the pregnancy, but the baby's death was established first. The woman was then admitted to the intensive care unit, where she died on Saturday afternoon, according to reports, a few hours after her daughter. The deaths have deeply affected Piano di Sorrento and the wider Sorrento Peninsula, where the community has gathered around the family.
- Woman goes to the San Leonardo hospital with groin pain and is sent home after examinations
- According to some reports, she loses consciousness in front of her relatives, who call for emergency help
- Doctors establish that the unborn daughter has died
- Astarita, admitted to intensive care, dies after the baby
The investigation
The Procura di Torre Annunziata has ordered the seizure of all medical records from the first visit and the later admission. Both bodies have been placed at the disposal of the judicial authority and will undergo autopsy to establish the exact causes of death and any responsibility. Police from the Castellammare di Stabia commissariato, under the direction of Francesco Cerciello, are handling the case after the family filed a complaint. Investigators will examine whether the death could have been avoided, given that the first visit took place at the same hospital.
Earlier case at the same hospital
Open reports that the San Leonardo hospital was already linked to the death of a child, Salvatore Abrunzo, who died in March 2024. In the days before this case, that investigation led to the arrest of Eutalia Esposito, former head of the gynecology department, who is now retired. According to Open, investigators' hypothesis concerns the management of the pregnancy and alleged omissions or later alterations, points that still need to be confirmed in court. The autopsies on Greta Astarita and her daughter will determine whether the two cases have any link.
