Pad left inside mother after birth
Six weeks after having a baby, Sukhleen Kaur could barely stand, had lost her appetite and there was a bad smell from her vagina.
Her midwife told the Lower Hutt 32-year-old that her stitches were healing fine, suggested she had an internal infection and prescribed her antibiotics but Kaur knew something was wrong.
Finally, a visit to her family doctor revealed a vaginal pack used to stem bleeding after birth had been left inside her and was still there 45 days later.
‘‘She [her doctor] said did you use a tampon or something, and she pulled the pad out from inside me. It was the size of my hand,’’ Kaur said.
‘‘I had a natural delivery, and I was so very happy that I did not have to get a caesarean section, but the experience I had postpartum was really, really bad and I can’t even think of having another baby,’’ she said.
Hutt Hospital has since apologised to Kaur for the error, which could have caused a serious infection. It will now ensure that all clinicians use a form to count in and out the number of any packs used.
Kaur had her baby, Harji, in March and suffered a tear. After she gave birth, the doctor inserted a vaginal pack as she needed to respond to an emergency in another room, before returning to give Kaur stitches. The doctor erroneously left a pad in.
Afterwards, Kaur put her pain and discomfort down to the stitches, which she was told would heal in two weeks.
But the pain was so bad she could not sit down on a chair and found it hard to stand up after using the toilet. When the smell started, her midwife prescribed her antibiotics but made no internal check.
‘‘I could not sit properly, I could not stand for long, I had pain when I pee, [and] I could not feed my baby properly,’’ she said.
Kaur had also lost her appetite, despite the fact she was breastfeeding. She then spoke with a clinician friend who said she should book an appointment with her general practitioner.
They did an internal check and found the pack was still there.
Now Kaur, who wept when the pad was found, wants to ensure it does not happen to anyone else.
Hutt Valley District Health Board chief nursing officer Chris Kerr said the board apologised unreservedly for failing to provide care of an appropriate standard.
‘‘We would like to apologise to the patient and family once again, and convey our sincerest regret for the harm caused by this incident,’’ she said.
The board had initiated a formal review into the incident, including auditing processes and procedures to mitigate the risk of a similar event occurring again.
‘‘The DHB remains committed to working through the findings and recommendations of the review, and providing the best possible care and outcomes for our patients,’’ Kerr said.