Woman gives birth in car outside Burgersfort Clinic

Yet another baby has been born outside the gates of the Burgersfort Clinic in Limpopo, this time in a vehicle.

A woman gave birth to her baby outside the clinic on Wednesday – the same institution that saw a young mother give birth outside its gates two weeks ago, Lowvelder reports.

In the previous incident, the woman was made to give birth outside the clinic because it only opened at 7am.

She and the group of women who assisted her were told by a nurse not to “make noise”.

The latest birth also took place before the clinic opened its gates.

ALSO READ: WATCH: Nurse tells woman giving birth outside clinic to be quiet

Be better prepared, says department

“According to the preliminary report, the woman arrived at the clinic at around 06:20 in the morning. The security personnel opened the gate for her and called on nursing staff to assist. This is despite the clinic opening at 07:00.

“When the nurse arrived, the woman had already delivered,” Limpopo health MEC Phophi Ramathuba said.

This was reportedly the woman’s second pregnancy.

Ramathuba took the latest incident as an opportunity to advise pregnant women to seek help timeously when they are close to delivering their babies.

“According to figures, last year at least 5 193 women delivered children before they could reach a health facility in the province.

“This figure is indicative of the challenge that we have in terms of women who rather wait until they are progressed before they seek help.”

She said women who wait until they are in advanced stages of labour before coming to the facility put themselves and their children at risk.

ALSO READ: Meet the street vendor who helped woman give birth outside Burgersfort Clinic

Bring back 24-hour clinic

The incident also prompted Burgersfort residents to urge Ramathuba to reinstate the clinic’s 24 hour operating hours.

“How can a clinic in a busy area such as Burgersfort town operate only during day hours,” asked a concerned resident, Phillip Maleka.

Limpopo health department spokesperson Neil Shikwambana told Review Online earlier this month the Burgersfort Clinic stopped operating for 24 hours two years ago, because of threats to nursing staff working night shift.

“While the department is working with the community and the police to solve issues such as crime, the community are advised to utilise nearby clinics for night emergencies,” Shikwambana said.

ALSO READ: Durban woman gives birth to a baby girl on pavement

Edited by Nica Richards.

This article first appeared on Caxton publication Lowvelder’s website, by Gilbert Motseo. Read the original article here.