Dead foetuses left with mother
2001-06-18 22:16
Johannesburg - A young mother's first pregnancy ended in a "cruel tragedy" when the dead foetuses of her premature twin daughters were left lying next to her in transparent plastic bags.
Rosemary Goldworthy, 18, of Vrededorp, Johannesburg was admitted to the Johannesburg hospital on Sunday morning at 10:00 with severe stomach cramps and haemorrhaging.
As a result of a shortage of beds in the maternity ward, she was
compelled to give birth to her twins, who were barely 22 weeks old, in the stock room.
"The firstborn was alive. She kicked and cried, but the nurse stuffed her in a plastic bag and knotted it. Rosie saw the baby's leg kicking through the plastic bag,ö a broken Jack Goldsworthy, the young mother's father, said on Monday.
"The second baby was stillborn and also placed in a plastic bag next to her," he said.
He arrived at the hospital two hours after the birth of the babies and was "extremely shocked" to find the two foetuses next to his daughter.
"They were her first children, and they left the two bodies right in front of her eyes for her to see. How should she feel?"
He said the nurse told his daughter that the "first baby would not live more than 24 hours" and that is why she had placed it in a plastic bag.
The doctor's report stated that the firstborn's "breathing was irregular" and that the second child would never have lived.
Goldsworthy refused to give permission for the babies to be cremated in the hospital incinerator and insisted on having her babies buried.
Family told to remove the foetuses
"The nurse said we had to remove the babies immediately if we didn't want them to be cremated."
The grandfather later wrapped the foetuses in a blue apron and placed them in a brown paper bag which he took home with him in the evening.
The bewildered family did not know what to do with the foetuses since undertakers were not allowed to bury bodies without a death
certificate.
A local undertaker finally undertook to remove the foetuses at 19:00 that evening and kept them in his mortuary.
Wayne Goldsworthy on Monday said his sister had "eagerly awaited" the birth of the babies. "This terrible event has affected her. She is a timid person and will have to undergo psychological counselling."
The family have requested an autopsy to determine the cause of death of the firstborn twin. Goldworthy was discharged on Monday evening.
Johannesburg Hospital spokesperson Trudie Schutte on Monday said the "firstborn did register a heartbeat, but soon died" and was only then placed in the plastic bag.
Student nurse attended to Goldsworthy
She added that Goldsworthy was attended by a student nurse who had been on her first day at the hospital. "She made a mistake in placing the foetuses next to the mother and would be reprimanded."
Dead foetuses are usually wrapped in sheets and laid down in a crib. If the foetus is younger than 26 weeks, it is cremated in the hospital.
The deputy director of MothersÆ Health of the Department of National Health, Nancy Nyaphikazi, on Monday said a premature baby younger than 26 weeks was regarded as a miscarriage as "it would not survive in the outside world."
Death certificates were only issued when the weight of foetuses exceeded 500gr and the family insisted upon it.
DA health spokesperson Jack Bloom expressed his shock and disgust over the incident. "Where is the humanity? No respect is shown towards death. The hospital should immediately investigate the incident."