No clothes for newborn babies in Kanyamazane clinic due to lockdown
Parents of newborns in Kanyamazane were humiliated as they had to wrap their babies with newspaper shortly after delivery.
This was caused by the lockdown regulations that, among others, initially restricted the sale of clothes, leaving many pregnant women in limbo.
Lowvelder was contacted by concerned community members who had witnessed this incident at the KaNyamazane clinic, where a young woman had given birth and had to be assisted by other residents who donated some baby clothing.
Upon investigating, a nurse at the clinic who spoke on condition of anonymity, said since lockdown a number of mothers of newborns had to suffer humiliation as they did not have clothes for their babies.
“We asked many of them and all said the current situation had caught them by surprise and they were therefore unable to buy clothing in time.
“Fortunately, in most cases other patients have come to the rescue by donating some items. In one incident a community member who had come for a check-up, drove back home and fetched her child’s baby clothes so she could donate them to a mother who was about to use newspaper to wrap her newborn baby,” she revealed.
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The same sentiments were echoed by the nursing staff of the Pienaar-based Ziweni Community Healthcare Centre.
They claimed to have been faced with the same problem, which has since compelled them to request donations from the community.
Spokesperson for the provincial health department, Dumisani Malamule, said the department sympathised with the affected mothers and urged community members to assist where they can.
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“I think it is good that other residents are willing to help. We need more good deeds such as this, especially during this time,” he said.The restriction on the sale of baby clothes has since been lifted.
