News / Local
Hospital 'cremates' baby without parent's consent
24 Feb 2015 at 06:38hrs | Views
A TEENAGE mum who gave birth to twins at Mpilo Central Hospital in Bulawayo is tormented by the death of one of the babies in which she suspects there has been foul play.
Cowdray Park resident, Nomsa Mukurazita, 18, gave birth prematurely at seven months to a baby girl and a boy on February 12 and two days later hospital staff informed her that the baby boy had passed on.
She told The Chronicle that she was not told the cause of death and neither was she shown the body.Prior to that she had not been told that there was a problem with her son.
Mukurazita claimed that when she demanded to see the body, she was told to contact her relatives so that they could view it together.
She said her relatives were unable to come to the hospital because of varying reasons and last Monday the hospital nurses told her that the baby had been incinerated without her consent.
"I'm having sleepless nights wondering where my baby boy is. Initially, l found it difficult to believe my boy was no more as he had been just a healthy bouncing baby and now this! They should've at least shown me his body and also consulted me before incinerating him," said Mukurazita.
She said her baby boy weighed 1,9 kilogrammes while the girl weighed 1, 5 kgs.
Mukurazita claimed her son's hospital file also went missing after the alleged incident. She said other women who had lost their babies were told to obtain death certificates for them but nothing was said to her in connection with her child's death raising questions about whether he had really died.
"I'm just confused. If my baby had died just like the other children why are they not telling me to get a death certificate for my baby like they've done with the other mothers?
"This is so disturbing and I don't think my soul will ever rest until l get to understand what happened to my baby," Mukurazita said.
Her uncle, Garikayi Mukurazita, said they are waiting for answers from Mpilo Central Hospital and would be taking the matter to the police in due course.
He added that his niece was not married and the father of her children had not visited since she gave birth.
The hospital's Chief Executive Officer Dr Lawrence Mantiziba requested written questions to be sent to him through email.
He had not responded by the time of going to print last night.
Cowdray Park resident, Nomsa Mukurazita, 18, gave birth prematurely at seven months to a baby girl and a boy on February 12 and two days later hospital staff informed her that the baby boy had passed on.
She told The Chronicle that she was not told the cause of death and neither was she shown the body.Prior to that she had not been told that there was a problem with her son.
Mukurazita claimed that when she demanded to see the body, she was told to contact her relatives so that they could view it together.
She said her relatives were unable to come to the hospital because of varying reasons and last Monday the hospital nurses told her that the baby had been incinerated without her consent.
"I'm having sleepless nights wondering where my baby boy is. Initially, l found it difficult to believe my boy was no more as he had been just a healthy bouncing baby and now this! They should've at least shown me his body and also consulted me before incinerating him," said Mukurazita.
She said her baby boy weighed 1,9 kilogrammes while the girl weighed 1, 5 kgs.
Mukurazita claimed her son's hospital file also went missing after the alleged incident. She said other women who had lost their babies were told to obtain death certificates for them but nothing was said to her in connection with her child's death raising questions about whether he had really died.
"I'm just confused. If my baby had died just like the other children why are they not telling me to get a death certificate for my baby like they've done with the other mothers?
"This is so disturbing and I don't think my soul will ever rest until l get to understand what happened to my baby," Mukurazita said.
Her uncle, Garikayi Mukurazita, said they are waiting for answers from Mpilo Central Hospital and would be taking the matter to the police in due course.
He added that his niece was not married and the father of her children had not visited since she gave birth.
The hospital's Chief Executive Officer Dr Lawrence Mantiziba requested written questions to be sent to him through email.
He had not responded by the time of going to print last night.
Source - chronicle
