Mum blames hospital for twin’s death in Lydenburg
At Soli Deo Gloria Centre, two parents, Ruan Rautenbach and Debbie Matthews, have lost their 11-day-old baby boy, Ethan Rautenbach.
His mother, Debbie Matthews, went into labour and was rushed to hospital at 04:00 on July 27. Ethan and his twin brother, Nathan, were born at 06:00. The mother and sons were discharged at 14:00 on the same day.
Baby Ethan died on August 11 at 01:00.
He was rushed to the hospital on August 10, already blue and struggling to breathe.
The hospital changed the cause of his death to late-onset neonatal sepsis on August 13, at the insistence of his parents.
Matthews was 33 weeks pregnant at the time of their birth. Ethan weighed 1.8kg at birth, and little Nathan weighed 1.88kg.
On July 29, two days after birth, Rautenbach and the twins returned to the hospital for a check-up. She was informed that Ethan was not gaining enough weight and that she should supplement breast milk with milk formula.
Rautenbach was then sent home with her sons.
“Ethan had breathing issues from the beginning, as he and his brother were premature. They should have been kept in the hospital for at least a few days, as they were both struggling to breathe and were underweight. I went to the hospital for a follow-up appointment a week after their birth. The nurses said Ethan was severely underweight. I tried to provide more milk for him with milk supplements. We went to the hospital a second time to say that the baby was struggling, but the nurses just said to provide more milk.
“On the day of his death, three days later, the hospital gave me a teacup and a syringe to try and force-feed him. He was put on a ventilator later in the afternoon, hours after he was admitted. I was hoping Lydenburg Hospital would do everything in its power to save my baby. I can’t even describe the grief I am feeling. All ignored. The doctor informed us there was too much fluid in his lungs. It feels like they waited for him to die,” she said.
Soli Deo Gloria Care Centre is a housing facility for underprivileged families. “The centre was overjoyed with the birth of the twins, but the tragedy that these two parents must now undergo is beyond comprehension. We want the Mpumalanga Department of Health to realise there is barely any care for babies and new mothers at the Lydenburg Hospital. Mothers are afraid of giving birth there because of the horrible incidents they hear about. We know Ethan is now in the Lord’s hands, but we hope by making his story public, other babies may survive,” said Gerda Venter, the centre’s director.
She said the FF Plus said it would investigate the case further.
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The Mpumalanga Department of Health was contacted for a comment about Ethan’s death on August 14, but no feedback had been received at the time of going to press.
