Busia, Nigeria – 4th March, 2020: Police in Busia District are investigating circumstances under which a midwife reportedly mishandled a woman in labour and the baby’s head was plucked off.
The mother says the medic pulled the baby’s legs which had come out first.
When the 21-year-old Lilian Musazi went into labour, the family says, it took some time before she was given attention. For four days, Ms Musazi had been at Bulumbi Health Centre III waiting for the right moment to deliver her baby.
At one point, her family asked that she be referred to the Red Cross facility if the hospital could not help her deliver. The father says: “We went on Thursday, if they had seen trouble she would have sent us to Red cross but they used force.”
Inadequacy
The health centre has only two midwives and this particular midwife had been on duty on her own for a week. When the midwife turned to Ms Musazi at about midday, the infant’s legs came out first but was stuck from the shoulder upwards.
Ms Musazi said: “She pulled then she went and sat. Later she came back and told me to push, but the baby refused to come out. She inserted her hands, pulled the baby then started to twist the baby. I cried as she told us to leave if we wanted. How could we go with the baby half out?
Source: https://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/Nurse-plucks-off-baby-s-head-during-birth/688334-5478236-10l28msz/index.html