Neglect in government hospital leads to baby’s death

On Wednesday, November 19 Ms Margaret Mphondo’s sister went into labour at Witbank Hospital and gave birth to a beautiful baby girl at about 09:15.
Their happiness was short lived as complications arose.
According to Mphondo, the baby girl was taken to ICU after sustaining a head injury, which she has no idea where it came from.
“When I went to visit her sister and baby in hospital, it looked like the baby had been dropped on its head. It had an icepack on its head and looked swollen,” said Mr Theo Fondse, Margaret’s former employer.

When Margaret contacted WITBANK NEWS on Friday, November 21, her family still had no valid answers from the doctors at Witbank Hospital.
“Three different doctors gave us three different answers. One said it was due to the baby not crying at birth, another said that the baby was too big for the birth and the third couldn’t answer us,” said Mphondo.

Fondse suspects that the baby suffered head trauma either during or after the birth.
The child passed away over the weekend and a funeral was held on Monday, November 24.
The family could not be contacted for further comment regarding the loss of their loved one.
The Department of Health was contacted for comment regarding the incident but did not respond in time for print.

The Democratic Alliance released a statement regarding suspected negligence at Witbank Hospital.
“The DA is shocked to learn about yet another incident of state hospital staff neglecting a woman and her baby during childbirth.
A pregnant woman was admitted to Witbank Provincial Hospital and according to her sister; she delivered a healthy baby girl. The family later saw the baby with an ice pack on her head meaning the baby had suffered head trauma. When they questioned the doctors about the trauma, they received conflicting answers; the baby has since been placed in ICU.

“Less than a week ago, a woman gave birth unassisted in Middelburg Hospital and her baby fell to the floor. It is extremely concerning that there seems to be an ongoing trend for pregnant women to be neglected in hospitals and for them to be denied the necessary assistance, often leading to tragic circumstances.
The Health Department’s annual performance plan states that the department has instructed all of healthcare facilities in Mpumalanga to review maternal and prenatal deaths.

In the Annual report for 2013/14, maternal mortality decreased from 166/100 000 to 133/100 000 but the infant and child mortality increased from 8.3% in 2012/2013 to 10.7% in 2013/2014.
The mortality of children under five years of age has also increased from 5.5% in 2012/2013 7.8% in 2013/14.
According to a recent study, the prenatal mortality rate was highest in Nkangala District at 36.2 per 1 000 live births in the year 2010/2011, followed by Gert Sibande District at 33.2 per 1000 live births and Ehlanzeni district at 31.8 per 1000 live births.

The DA has been fighting tirelessly for public hospitals and nurses to treat childbirth with the seriousness and care it deserves but unfortunately, many pregnant women are still being mistreated in public hospitals. We cannot allow for this to continue. As such, we will be writing parliamentary questions to Health MEC, Gillion Mashego to find out how exactly the department intends to make sure that public hospitals are safe birthing centres for pregnant women.
“The DA will continue its fight to ensure the safety of women and babies in hospitals and to restore the dignity of bringing life into the world.”