Cape Town - More than four months after giving birth to her fourth child, a Parow East mother cannot shake off the traumatic ordeal.
Stacey Nelson-Herrington, 35, gave birth to a girl in December.
Due to financial constraints, she had to forgo her medical aid prior to falling pregnant and had to make use of public-sector health facilities.
Nelson-Herrington praised some staff at the facilities she had visited for their humane care, but at others she had encountered aggressiveness.
On December 21, last year at 6.30am, Nelson-Herrington’s water broke and she was taken to Elsies River Day Hospital.
Prior to this, Parow Clinic had transferred her to Tygerberg Hospital, where she was told she should give birth at Elsies River Day Hospital but would first need to return to Parow Clinic.
She said upon arrival at the Elsies River Day Hospital, just after 7am, there had been no suitable wheelchairs and she had to be assisted into the facility by her husband and another individual.
“There was a line of women waiting to be assisted and the nurses were handling it as though it was on a first -come-first-serve basis. There were no beds made up, and it seemed as though all women were in labour.
“I felt my bowel go as though I was ready to push and yelled at the sister that I am giving birth. The sister yelled back at me in Afrikaans that she is going to cut my toes off if I’m lying.”
While delivering the placenta, a sister had told her she was not meant to give birth at the facility but instead at Tygerberg Hospital.
“While birthing my placenta, she went on to tell me I should take my hands off her as she has many other women she needs to work on during the course of the day. The sister who shoved me to the bed came back to me to yell at me and state that I should not have any more children as I could not even walk myself to the bed.”
Nelson-Herrington said that after a few hours she was taken by ambulance to Karl Bremer Hospital and the baby was placed on oxygen (CPAP) and monitored.
She said the room she was put in was shabby, and she criticised the unprofessional behaviour of some sisters, which included arguing in front of patients.
“My baby seemed to progress, however a sister had ripped my baby’s plaster off her face where the oxygen pipes were, and pulled some of her skin off with it, which upset me.
“The same sister who tried to embarrass me would ask ladies how old they are, and why they had babies so young, and would embarrass them and state that instead of going to college they are now in the college of having babies.”
Nelson-Herrington said ton Christmas morning, one of the sisters jokingly referred to the mothers, who had their babies in ICU, as “cows” as they walked by.
Health and Wellness Department spokesperson Shimoney Regter said: “We acknowledge her experience and view this matter in a serious light. While there is an increased demand for service, we remain committed to providing safe, quality and affordable care for all clients, including women during pregnancy and childbirth.”
Regter said the feedback afforded the department an opportunity to improve and strengthen its services.