UNSPEAKABLE PAIN

Mother loses two babies at Jubilee in 22 months

Only those who’ve had the experience will ever truly understand the devastating effect that losing a baby has on a mother. The life that grew inside and the heartbeat she felt are gone forever.

Samanta Edwards has been through this horrifying experience not once, but two times. Between tears, the 33- year- old related her ordeal of losing two babies – Girvona and Girvon – in the hospital’s delivery room.

Last Friday, August 13, Edwards suffered a stillbirth and neonatal death at Victoria Jubilee Hospital (VJH) in Kingston. The heartbreaking incident occurred nearly two years after her daughter, Girvona, was born dead at the same facility in October, 2019.

Edwards is convinced that both her babies would be alive today if her pleas to the medical staff had not fallen on deaf and stubborn ears. She claims to have alerted the staff to a potential problem with Girvon only to be ignored.

“Mi tell dem seh di baby nah move and mi feel di same way like how mi did feel in 2019 when mi first baby dead, and dem still send mi home. Mi bawl to dem and dem still make mi baby dead,” she said.

Edwards said that medical staff, despite her pleas, did not accommodate her request for labour to be induced before the pregnancy reach full term.

“I did an ultrasound at 33 weeks and the doctor told me that if the baby still breach, they are going to have to take the baby at 35 weeks. I went back to Jubilee clinic and I told them what I was told, and dem say nuh doctor can’t tell mi dat because the baby lungs is not fully developed until 37 weeks,” she said.

A full-term pregnancy is at least 39 weeks. Studies suggest that babies born before 36 weeks may experience challenges such as health complications and developmental delays into childhood.

Edwards said that when her pregnancy reached 35 weeks, she began feeling worse and pleaded with the doctors to induce labour, but said her cries fell on deaf ears.

HEARTBEAT

“When I was 36 weeks, they told me to come back the following week for admission and mi feel so good when she tell mi that. When mi go to the clinic dem change the date again and say I should come the following week again, and mi start cry and mi start get ignorant. Dem put mi on a machine and say the baby heartbeat normal,” she said.

Edwards said she went back to clinic last Wednesday and she was once again told to return the following week.

“Mi feel worse last Thursday and mi start see spotting and mi start cry. We broke every stoplight to reach a Jubilee and dem put mi on machine and tell mi say the baby heartbeat alright and dem send mi go labour ward. Mi keep on a tell dem say di baby not moving and mi know mi baby was sick,” she said between tears.

The following day, August 13, Edwards said she was finally given the green light to undergo a C-section but by that time, it was already too late. Her son, Girvon, died a few hours after birth.

“When dem tell mi say di baby dead and dem cary him come give mi him cold like him dead long time. Right now mi a fight it to live me for me one child that mi have alive because it hard. Mi stand up dis morning and a look in the mirror and mi just feel to lick everything off mi dresser. Mi prepare in 2019 and mi prepare this year and mi baby dem dead. Mi had plans for mi children,” she said between tears.

“In 2019, when mi did pregnant a same way mi tell dem say the baby a stiff up and nah move and dem tell mi say she fine and dem hear heartbeat. When she born dem tell mi say she dead about six days before delivery, so imagine all that time she in mi dead,” she wailed.

Senior medical officer for VJH, Dr Garth McDonald, said he was not at liberty to speak to the media on that particular matter because the patient has a right to confidentiality. He, however, said that Edwards can lodge a complaint at the hospital for the matter to be reviewed.

“I will not breach the mechanism that is in place in terms of patient confidentiality, so I wil not be making a public comment at this time. When it goes through the complaint mechanism then I will address the matter. Once a complaint is made, then we can investigate ,” he said.