Hospital staff allegedly left a young patient ignored and unattended during and after her miscarriage, with the woman being forced to sit with the dead foetus between her legs for hours afterwards.
The 23‑year‑old – from the rural village of Esithumaba in KwaZulu‑Natal – has been traumatised by the experience at St Mary’s Hospital in Mariannhill, outside Durban, reports Phumzile Mkhungo for Health-e News.
Notile Mkhize, who was 18 weeks’ pregnant, said that when she arrived at the hospital at noon on a Friday, in severe pain, staff told her that her cervix was dilating and that a miscarriage was likely. She was told to just sit and wait.
“I was in terrible pain. They didn’t help me,” Mkhize said, adding that she was left to deliver the foetus alone, without help, and sat bleeding for hours afterwards, ignored by staff.
“I had to look at my baby, still between my legs. It was the worst moment of my life,” she said.”
When her sister arrived, she called for help, but was told nurses were handing over to the night shift.
“My sister sat there with the baby between her legs until 9pm,” her sister said.
‘Investigating’
KwaZulu‑Natal Department of Health MEC spokesperson Nathi Olifant said the department would investigate, and that it was “deeply concerning to hear such reports”.
“Compassion and care should be the minimum standard. We will work with the hospital to understand what happened and ensure accountability where necessary.
“A woman should never have to sit with her dead baby between her legs for hours. That is beyond neglect – it is inhumane.”
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