By Tholakele Thabane
Abigail Motshwaedi, 23, is a first-time mother from Westonaria in the West Rand of Gauteng and her birthing journey has been marred with gloominess.
It was on 30 March around 9pm when Abigail rushed to the Bekkersdal Clinic as she experienced labour pains. Her womb was still closed, she was told and was not ready to give birth. She was sent home and told to wait for the right time.
The pains worsened, and around 1am she called for transportation to the clinic as they do not have access to enough ambulances. Her water broke at 2:40am when she arrived at the clinic and she immediately alerted the nurses.The nurses sent her to urinate in a test cup.
When she walked out of the toilet the baby emerged through the birth canal and fell on the floor knocking her head on the floor. Since she gave birth to her daughter on 31 March, she has been in and out of hospital due to the negligence that the Bekkersdal Clinic staff committed during her birthing process.
Her story is one a new mom, or a mother in general, would not wish for during childbirth, when her baby slips and falls out of her at such a dangerous moment. Abigail was blamed for this, as it was alleged that she pushed before the time, even though she had mentioned her water had already broken and that she felt the baby’s head when she was about to pee. Despite this incident taking place in the clinic, her
daughter was not attended to immediately. She was then sent home without conducting any satisfactory check-ups on the infant.
Her daughter experienced swelling after two days of birth and when she took her to the clinic for the three-day check-up, the bump had not yet healed. She demanded that the staff conduct an x-ray which revealed the baby’s head was injured, and again, she was informed by the medical staff that the injury was nothing serious.
She was then referred to Leratong Hospital for further examination on 22 July and had to come back for a further examination on 12 August and was told that the bump was nothing bad.
Which left her confused and she was not given a chance to ask questions and is currently unsure if the bump is worth worrying about or she should relax. Her daughter has not yet healed and emotionally the whole issue has been daunting for the new mother.
Which left her confused and she was not given a chance to ask questions and is currently unsure if the bump is worth worrying about or she should relax. Her daughter has not yet healed and emotionally the whole issue has been daunting for the new mother.
The gap between the appointment dates took a toll on Abigail as the wait left her under suspense, not knowing what the bump on her daughter’s head is and how it may affect her in the long run.
The post A Young Mom’s Fight for Justice After Clinic Negligence first appeared on MACUA.
