Mother, 41, dies after delivery at Linden hospital
A 41-year old mother from Central Amelia’s Ward, Linden, died on Monday evening, having reportedly suffered severe haemorrhaging after delivering a 10-pound baby at the Linden Hospital Complex.
Jennifer Gill, of 1327 Central Amelia’s Ward, was admitted at the Linden Hospital Complex on Sunday morning and died just before 8 pm on Monday.
A relative told Stabroek News last evening that considering Gill’s age and the baby’s weight, her pregnancy was considered a high-risk one and therefore she was expected to deliver the baby via Caesarean-Section.
However, according to the relative, this did not happen as they were told she delivered a 10-pound baby boy naturally on Sunday evening.
It was at that point, the relative said, that the troubles began as Gill, who also has two older children, reportedly began to bleed and she was rushed into the operating theatre just around midnight.
“They weren’t really telling us exactly what was going on, but we understand that the doctors took out her uterus, probably hoping to stop the bleeding. But each doctor that talk to us keep telling we something different,” the relative told Stabroek News.
In addition, relatives at the hospital were told that the woman, as a result of the severe haemorrhaging, needed blood and specific medication, neither of which was available at the hospital at the time.
“They told us that they needed blood because the hospital only had one unit at that time, so they had to send to Georgetown for more but her body keep rejecting it…another time they tell us that they needed some medication that they using to keep her alive but that they don’t have it,” the relative added, while noting they were told that the medication had to be brought from the Woodlands Hospital in Georgetown.
Gill’s condition reportedly continued to deteriorate as the hours passed by as she continued to bleed.
Stabroek News understands that family members were allowed to see Gill, who had been transferred to the intensive care unit of the hospital, just after 3 on Monday afternoon.
“They keep telling us that they trying to bring her back…they allowed us to go in and see her two at a time and she had already looked as though she had passed but she was on life support,” the relative shared.
However, news of Gill’s demise was communicated to the family just around 8 pm on Monday.
It was further related that though relatives made attempts to gather additional information regarding the decision for the woman to undergo a natural birth as opposed to the expected Caesarean-Section, they were unable to get any information from the doctors.
Several attempts were made to contact Chief Executive Officer of the Linden Hospital Complex Dr. Mohamed Riyasat but this newspaper was told he was in a meeting. Meanwhile, Minister within the Ministry of Public Health Karen Cummings explained that as of last evening, she had not yet been briefed on the matter.
Gill’s family is currently awaiting the arrival of an overseas-based relative, who is a medical doctor, before going ahead with the post-mortem examination.