Just seen this in todays Telegraph (20/08/2002):
Woman catches fire during caesarean
A woman was in a critical condition in a New Zealand hospital last night after she caught fire while having a caesarean.
The 17-year-old first-time mother, who has not been named, suffered major injuries in the operating theatre of Waitakere Hospital, Auckland, when the fire broke out with the baby still in her womb.
Medical staff smothered the flames, but the woman suffered severe burns to her back, sides, groin and thighs.
Investigators believe the fire started when an alcohol-based antiseptic used to sterilise parts of the body for surgery became heated by equipment to cauterise wounds.
A family friend said: "She's not just half burnt, she's severely burnt. She goes in to have a child and ends up in the burns unit. She's only a girl herself.
"Her mother was in the operating theatre with her. She is devastated. She could see the skin peeling off her daughter."
The friend said the woman was now in a great deal of pain and being given morphine. Her 8lb 14oz baby boy is doing well.
A spokesman said the hospital had switched to using a non-flammable iodine-based solution while an investigation was carried out.
Puts most birth stories in the shade...