ZHENGZHOU, Jan. 30 -- A doctor has been fired and several staff were demoted after a newborn baby was killed after being dragged several meters by the mother's wheelchair.

The baby was born on Jan. 2 while the mother, surnamed Shang, was being moved in a wheelchair to receive a cesarean on the insistence of the doctor, said hospital managers with the Women and Children Medical Care Center of Luoyang City, central China's Henan Province.

Chinese hospitals have long reported high cesarean rates, which experts blame on profit-seeking doctors and mothers using cesarean to give birth on a lucky date or to secure a painless delivery.

Surveillance cameras showed the baby hit the ground head-down and was dragged by the attached umbilical cord for more than 10 meters before the nurse noticed.

The left side of the baby's head was swollen with what doctors thought was intracranial hematomas and the baby died later despite medical treatment.

The father, surnamed Pan, said Shang's water broke on the evening of Jan. 1 after seven months' pregnancy, and the doctor on the night shift of the hospital advised natural labor after examination that day.

Qin, however, strongly recommended the cesarean because Shang gave birth to their first child 15 years ago in the same manner.

The hospital on Friday sacked Qin Hongjuan, the doctor who demanded cesarean, and removed several others from their administrative posts. Two nurses who moved the mother also received penalties.

The hospital admitted a lack of experience in the doctor's cesarean suggestion and improper handling, including the nurses' use of a wheelchair to transport the mother and their failure to notice the baby coming out.

Local media reported the case on Friday, and the city health department has launched an investigation whether the hospital should be responsible for the baby's death.