Dead foetus left in mother for days

Hospital staff make woman wait before stillborn removed

DESPITE losing her unborn baby, Noluvuyo Manana had to endure further trauma after staff at Cecilia Makiwane Hospital allegedly left her for days with the dead baby in her womb.

It took the hospital five days before the dead foetus could be removed.

Manana, 30, a first-year student at Walter Sisulu University, told the Daily Dispatch yesterday she had been traumatised by sharing a ward with new mothers who were holding their children, while she sat in despair for days, waiting for the dead foetus to be removed from her.

“I was diagnosed with high blood pressure when I was first admitted to the hospital earlier in September.

“I was discharged on September 4. Two days later I was asked to return to the hospital and that is when I was told that I had lost my baby boy.

“However the foetus was only removed from my womb on September 11, five days after I was told he was deceased,” an emotional Manana said.

Provincial health department spokesman Sizwe Kupelo said there was nothing abnormal about the process Manana had undergone.

“The stillborn gets induced first and if after a week a mother doesn’t deliver naturally, the foetus gets removed through surgery. There has been no wrongdoing in this case,” he said.

Manana, however, described her stay at the Mdantsane hospital as painful and brutal.

“Even after the foetus was removed, it took them over an hour before the baby was taken away, and this was just unbearable.

“From the time I lost my baby until now, I have not received any counselling. Instead I am traumatised by the cries of small babies and happy mothers who get to take their little ones home,” she said.

Manana yesterday said she was admitted to hospital again earlier this week when her gynaecologist detected large blood clots still visible in her womb.

“I just wish this could all be over because right now it feels like I am living a nightmare.

“If the hospital had a separate unit or ward to deal with people like me, so we can mourn together and support each other while we receive counselling from psychologists and social workers, things would be much better,” she said.

East London gynaecologist Dr Sidwell Sifumba said there was no danger in keeping a stillborn for a few days, although it depended on the circumstances.

“In an ideal situation when a doctor has discovered a patient’s baby has died, they discuss the options available as to how to go about delivering the foetus.

“Many people don’t want to carry a stillborn for long and blood tests are usually taken to see if keeping it until the natural contractions occur, may cause any blood spill when the foetus is still inside,” he said.

Counselling psychologist Brenda Ann Beukman said trauma manifested itself differently in every individual.

“Each person has a different response to trauma and the fact that she did not get any counselling immediately may cause her severe trauma, but it may not be the same with the next person.

“It is imperative to assess the patient’s needs first, so you know how and when to counsel.” —