When Valencia Ephraim went into labour on 26 August it should have been a joyous occasion.
Her mother Pearl Stevenson rushed her to the Discoverers Health Clinic in Clarendon Street. At the clinic no one offered her a wheelchair, a normal practice when a woman in labour arrives at a hospital.
First she had to fill out her file. After that she was examined and put in a general ward as opposed to the maternity ward. Because Ephraim also had a bad experience with the birth of her first child, Stevenson asked if she could stay with her daughter. Her request was granted.
When Ephraim started experiencing excruciating labour pains she screamed and started hyperventilating. Stevenson panicked and checked if she could see the baby’s head appearing. That very moment a nurse came in and yelled at her, asking her if she was trying to do the nurse’s job.
The nurse told Ephraim to get up so that they could walk to the theatre.
“The next moment I heard a thudding noise and when I looked I was horrified to see that the baby had fallen onto the floor,” says Stevenson.
“We both were hysterical.”
After everything was brought under control and Stevenson could see her new grandchild, staff allegedly told her that she was a ‘drama queen’.
A nurse also wanted to know why Ephraim was walking in her condition. When Stevenson told her that another nurse had ordered her to walk, the nurse admitted to it.
Stevenson decided not to leave it at that and took her daughter and the baby to Raheena Moosa Hospital to have tests done on the baby.
They currently are awaiting the results of the blood tests. The baby also has a substantial bump on its head.
The director of the clinic, Maria Masibuka, could not be reached for comment.
