Mother blames ‘shocking treatment’ at Dora Nginza for baby’s death

“They played God with my baby’s life.”

That is how 27-year-old Justine Shanley Botha described her five-day ordeal at Dora Nginza Hospital, where she alleged that negligence and a lack of basic care had resulted in the loss of her child.

She was admitted at 41 weeks pregnant on May 12, and Botha alleged she was denied food, forced to sleep on chairs and dirty beds, and left without medical assistance as the contractions worsened.

Botha shared her experience on Saturday by creating a Facebook page titled “Justice for baby Liam”.

She said she had been shouted at by several staff, mocked in front of other patients and repeatedly denied access to her family during a critical time.

The page has generated hundreds of comments, with other women sharing similar experiences of alleged ill treatment during their time at Dora Nginza.

Botha recalled being sedated, shuffled between beds and allegedly being told by a doctor that she would “be the cause of her baby’s death”. 

She said she was left traumatised not only by the loss of her child but also by the treatment she had endured at the hands of hospital staff.

Sitting in the living room of her Sidwell home on Monday, Botha fought back tears as she recounted her story.

Provincial health spokesperson Siyanda Manana said a quality assurance team was handling the matter.

“We are very sorry that Botha lost her baby.”

Eastern Cape chair of Scopa and PA MPL Tiphany Harmse visited Botha on Monday after seeing her story on social media.

“We’re here to give a hand to say we have seen your outcry,” Harmse said.

“It can never bring your baby back but we want accountability for the people who did this to you.”

Harmse said the PA had prepared a motion so it could be presented at the Bhisho legislature and debated in the house.

She visited Dora Nginza on Tuesday in an attempt to get answers from hospital chief executive Dr Zukiso Nxiweni.

Instead, a door was slammed in her face when she tried to enter the admin room.

Harmse arrived with fellow PA members but despite her status as an MP, she was told she needed to make an appointment.

After a shouting match ensued, the police were called by the hospital.

However, after a long wait, Harmse was eventually allowed to speak to officials.

In July, a doctor who spoke to The Herald on condition of anonymity said they were severely understaffed at the hospital.

He said doctors worked long hours without being paid accordingly. 

“We’re constantly on call, and on average, deliver nearly 140 babies a week.

“In one week in July, we had about 134 deliveries and out of that, only five were stillbirths.

“Three of the stillbirths were patient-related, while two died during delivery, where the staff didn’t manage it well.

“Unfortunately, mistakes like that will happen because doctors are tired and are doing C-section after C-section with no breaks in-between.

“All clinics around Dora don’t deliver stillbirths, and mothers are sent to us.”

Meanwhile, Botha said labour had been induced three times, with the third leaving her numb.

“I was scared at first [when finding out about the pregnancy]. I didn’t know what was going to happen and I wondered if we’d have enough stuff for my baby and whether we’d be able to afford everything.

“But we were blessed as my pregnancy journey progressed.

“My family supported me, my work colleagues supported me and we didn’t need to buy anything for the child.”

Botha said that when she arrived at Dora Nginza, she ended up at the hospital clinic.

“When I got there, I was impatient because I couldn’t wait to see my baby but I wasn’t rude to anyone.

“They checked how many centimetres I was dilated and the doctor promised to help and said everything would be OK. But that wasn’t the case.

“Obviously, I started panicking, but then I started praying and still had hope.”

Botha said she had told the nurses she felt like she was in labour but was given Panado.

She said she fell asleep and when she later complained of pain she was offered Painogesic, which cannot be administered to pregnant women.

“I remember once having a headache at home, and Painogesic was the only thing I had in the house.

“At the time, I didn’t take it, and at Dora Nginza, I refused to take it and just said thank you and kept it aside.

“The next morning at 5am, the nurse came to check vitals, and I was told to get up and sit on the chairs again.”

Botha said one of the most humiliating moments for her came on May 13 when a doctor came to check how far she had dilated.

“He opened the curtain and everyone could see he was going to do his thing.”

She said she had asked him to close the curtain and alleged that he had responded in a rude and unprofessional manner, asking her why she was shy.

“I lay there and let him do his thing, but in between when I got contractions, I asked them to give me a C-section because in my family history my mom, my sister and relatives all had C-sections and I felt that I couldn’t push.”

Recounting the harrowing ordeal, Botha said her mucus plug came out just before 6pm on May 14.

She was eventually induced on May 15.

She said the medication she was given to induce labour had made her extremely sick, so much so that she threw up.

At this point, Botha said, she once again begged for a C-section but was still refused.

“I was sitting on a chair begging for a C-section, and the whole time, the contractions got worse and worse. 

“As the contractions got worse, the doctor did his thing again and did a check-up and then told me I must just lie there because I wasn’t dilated.

“The contractions got worse and I couldn’t keep it in. I tried my best, but the doctor told me to keep it in but I couldn’t.

“So the contractions got worse. I pushed, I cried, and everyone in that ward was laughing.

“The doctor told me if I kept on pushing I would be the cause of my child’s death.”

With her voice cracking, Botha said: “I blame myself for my child’s death.”

She said she bled after the third time labour had been induced and that they had then decided to perform an emergency C-section.

She alleged that on the night she gave birth there were a total of five stillbirths at Dora Nginza.

Botha said while she was still in shock after losing her son she had asked to see and hold him but the staff had refused at first.

“I was lying in bed for nearly two hours after I’d asked to see my child, and eventually they brought the child to me.

“The only thing I wanted to do was to hold him, but [they just let me look] and took him from me as if I hadn’t given birth to the child, as if it was just another baby.”

Botha said that when she tried to discharge herself from the hospital, she was threatened that the police would be sent to her house.

She was discharged on May 17.

Despite her ordeal, Botha believes she will one day be blessed with a child.

“I do believe that God will bless us with another baby. I’m not scared. But I’m scared of pushing, I’m scared of going back to a government hospital.

“I don’t want money. I want justice. If I get money, I will make sure no-one ever goes through what I went through.”

The Herald