Grieving mother says hospital staff have no sympathy for infant death
Shattered by the lack of empathy she received from nursing staff, there was nothing more this mother could do, but sit back and watch as her newborn lost her battle for survival.
“WE are not God, we cannot bring back life.”
While nobody can deny the truth behind this statement, which was overheard in the maternity ward at Vryheid Hospital, to the grieving mother it was directed at, the words cut like a knife.
Shattered by the lack of empathy she received from nursing staff, there was nothing more this mother could do, but sit back and watch as her newborn lost her battle for survival.
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According to a concerned relative, the mother, who wished to remain anonymous, felt that something must be wrong when a urine sample she was asked to produce was dark green and smelly. However, the nurses did not regard this symptom as cause for alarm.
At 11.20pm that night her baby girl was delivered by c-section.
“The mother expected her baby to be brought to her when she awoke the next morning, but without clear reasons, this was not done. At noon, she insisted on seeing her baby and that was when she was finally told that the baby had defecated inside the womb and had suffocated on the meconium she had inhaled. The baby was therefore being kept in isolation – high care,” said the relative.
“When the mother and the rest of the family arrived in isolation ward, it was clear to everyone that the baby was in bad condition. Therefore, I would like to thank the staff at paediatrics and emergency services that worked tirelessly to try and revive the baby. At the same time, I feel more could have been done by the maternity staff to save the life of the baby before the situation became critical.”
The relative continued, “Unfortunately, a life was lost. As the family was grieving, two other mothers came forward to say that they had also lost their babies. Has this become such a norm at hospitals that it no longer concerns the staff? I would like to plead with maternity staff to have sympathy for the mothers during their pain at losing a child. One of the nurses had said, ‘I had already explained that there’s nothing more I can do. Make way, I’m knocking off.’ The life support was switched off by a nurse who told the mother that the machine was tired.”
The mother’s family was further infuriated by the fact that they were “chased out” of the hospital when visiting hours had ended.
“When family comes to hospital to visit their loved ones who are grieving the death of an infant, it is not a social visit!” said the relative. “They go there to give moral support and comfort. How do you let someone who is grieving the loss of her baby, go back to share a ward full of mothers who have their newborn babies with them? Is that not insensitive?”
Hospital public relations officer, Nqobile Mbatha, was informed of the claims made by the aggrieved mother and her family prior to print. Ms Mbatha said an investigation had been done into the matter and the findings would be forwarded to the Vryheid Herald for next week’s edition.
In the meantime, the mother and her family are calling on other residents to share their experience of the maternity ward at Vryheid Hospital to bring about change in the way patients are treated. Contact Estella Naicker on 034 981 3930 or 079 256 7570 to share your story.
