A 34-year-old woman was found dead in her apartment in the Athens district of Patissia after giving birth alone at home. Her newborn was also discovered lifeless beside her, while her two young children, aged three and five, were present in the apartment at the time.
According to initial police information, the woman, who reportedly chose not to seek medical supervision during her pregnancy, delivered without assistance, as she had done with her previous two children. Neighbors said she had also insisted on giving birth to them at home.
Her partner, originally from Georgia, told authorities that he had been unable to reach her by phone and returned home to find her and the baby dead. With the help of a neighbor, he attempted cardiopulmonary resuscitation, but efforts to revive her were unsuccessful. “When I got back from work, the children came to me and then I saw my wife on the floor. I tried to help, but nothing worked,” he said, denying reports that a pair of scissors was used at the scene.
The apartment was sealed off by police, and a forensic examiner arrived to assess the situation. According to preliminary findings, the woman’s death may have been due to medical complications, but definitive conclusions will come only after the autopsy.
Neighbors described the woman as kind and gentle, expressing shock at her death. One said: “Her brother told me she cut the umbilical cord herself and then passed away with her baby. She had given birth at home before. It is heartbreaking—she leaves two little children behind.”
Such incidents are extremely rare in Greece, which has a public healthcare system and consistently outperforms the EU average in infant mortality rates.
