More allegations have been added to the raft of charges against a former Pretoria midwife, with another couple now alleging that their child’s severe brain damage was a result of a mishandled, botched delivery by Yolande Maritz.
This is according to a letter sent to Gauteng Director of Public Prosecutions by AfriForum’s private prosecution unit asking that the couple be added as complainants in the prosecution of Maritz, reports News24.
The unit’s head, Advocate Gerrie Nel, said they were approached by the couple soon after Maritz made her first appearance in court on charges of assault relating to her handling of three births.
Police had told them they could not open a case because it was “too late”, so they turned to the unit, which now acts on their behalf.
It is understood their allegations mirror those of the other parents who are complainants in the court case.
News24 had reported in July that Maritz, the owner of You & Me Birthing Centre in Pretoria, made her first appearance in court on several charges of assault after years of malpractice allegations of mishandling pregnancies and births.
In 2021, she was deregistered as a midwife after the South African Nursing Council found her guilty of negligent and unprofessional behaviour. She appealed the ruling, but her case was dismissed.
Charges
Allegations on the charge sheet include that she acted callously towards pregnant women, administering harmful drugs without their consent, and failed to properly support, monitor and assist them during labour.
In July 2019, Maritz allegedly assaulted a pregnant patient by injecting her with labour-inducing oxytocin in each leg against her will and forcing her to drink a bottle of water mixed with Cytotec without her knowledge – which can also be used to induce labour but can cause birth defects, abortion, or rupture of the uterus.
Maritz allegedly failed to protect her from severe physical injuries while under her care during labour and birth, and did not take her to hospital for emergency treatment.
Maritz also allegedly gave Cytotec to another pregnant patient, Alysia Von Kloëg; failed to properly monitor, support and assist her during her labour in 2019, and did not refer her to a specialist when it became evident the foetus she was carrying was not growing or gaining weight as expected.
She is also charged with the assault of Von Kloëg’s newborn, Noah, as she allegedly refused to contact emergency services during labour until the family paid R3 000, and failed to summon emergency services after Noah was born very small, blue and did not cry or breathe properly.
Noah died nine days after birth.
Maritz has also been charged with the assault of a third pregnant mother.
In court last week, the matter was postponed to September.
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Pretoria midwife faces multiple assault charges
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