‘Our child is gone’ – Hospital nightmare for parents
“I shouted for help, and the nurses came running. I just grabbed my wife and held her, so she could not see.”
Last Thursday a hospital visit turned into a nightmare for a Newcastle family, when their baby girl was born prematurely in a toilet at Mediclinic Newcastle.
Tragically, the little girl did not survive the incident.
On Thursday morning the parents, Jane and John*, arrived at Mediclinic just before 8am in the morning. Jane had been suffering severe abdominal pain since the previous night.
According to the parents, upon admission a pregnancy test was conducted. The test was positive, although Jane claims she had no idea she was pregnant.
“With our first child, my wife only found out she was pregnant at 7 months,” said John. “There was absolutely no indication that she was pregnant again.”
Jane was given pain medication via a drip. When this medication did not help for the pain, she was given a different medication, which was also safe to use while pregnant.
“The second dose of medicine did help a bit, but I was still suffering severe pain,” she said.
An ultra sound was scheduled, and it was determined that no abnormalities were apparent. It was also determined that the child was 21 weeks old. Throughout this time, Jane was suffering from what she describes as ‘very bad’ pain.
“I was taken back to casualty after the scan,” said Jane. “I was lying on the bed just waiting.”
After consuming a substantial amount of water before the scan, Jane needed to go to the bathroom.
At approximately 10.30am, her husband accompanied her to the bathroom, where the unthinkable occurred. Jane had her baby while on the toilet.
“I actually heard the baby hitting the bottom,” said John, fighting back tears. “I shouted for help, and the nurses came running. I just grabbed my wife and held her, so she could not see.”
“One of the nurses actually said, ‘Oh, you must have been having contractions’,” alleged the parents.
Both parents feel doctors and staff could have done more, knowing she was pregnant and abdominal pains could have indicated she had gone into labour.
Mediclinic declined to comment on specific questions in a bid to keep the privacy and the dignity of the parents intact.
“Due to the extremely sensitive nature of the incident and in order to maintain the patient and her family’s privacy and dignity. We have decided to not discuss this matter in the public domain and will therefore not be responding to your questions,” said Mariette Classen, Network and Client Services Manager for Mediclinic Newcastle. “We have contacted the family and will be having a meeting with them to address their concerns and issues privately.”
“Our child is gone,” said John. “We have lost her in the worst way. We just don’t want this to happen to anyone else.”
The little girl was cremated the same day, and Jane was discharged after having a procedure done to clean her womb.
The family will be meeting with Mediclinic staff to discuss the situation, after which they will decide on a course of action.
*The names of the family have been changed for purposes of anonymity.
