MANZINI — What was meant to be the happiest day for *Thoko has instead become a battle for survival after a piece of cloth was ‘forgotten’ inside her womb following the delivery of her baby.
This shocking incident, which has left the family with many unanswered questions, occurred at the Manzini Raleigh Fitkin Memorial Hospital (RFM).
According to *Zanele, sister of Thoko, who spoke to the Eswatini News, the ‘forgotten’ piece of cloth was discovered seven days after delivery, when her sister returned to the hospital for a routine check-up.
Giving a genesis of her sister’s ordeal, Zanele recalled that on August 19, Thoko gave birth to her baby at the hospital and was discharged the following day.
The delivery itself went smoothly, but within days of returning home she began complaining of excruciating pain and a foul smell from her genitals.
She said, together with their mother, they allayed her fears and reassured her that it was normal to have such a smell, and it would soon fade away after three or four days.
Her elder sister vividly recounted that her sister complained of the growing stench after five days had elapsed, accompanied by aggravating pain inside her womb.
On the seventh day, which was August 26, she returned to the hospital as per procedure and her fears were amplified when a doctor who attended to her reportedly noticed the smell and decided to investigate further.
What he found left the family shocked: a piece of cloth, believed to be a swab, had been left inside her body after delivery. The swab had turned greenish in colour.
The doctor retrieved the swab and later administered an injection and gave her pills for infection.
Probed about the doctor’s explanation regarding the incident, the elder sister mentioned that he said the midwife, who assisted her, likely forgot to remove it.
“The doctor’s explanation was that the midwife, who assisted my sister likely forgot to take it out,” the elder sister recounted.
“It was no longer white, but had turned greenish. We were terrified when we realised this had been inside her for more than a week,” she said.
Zanele explained that the doctor told them it was common for a swab or piece of cloth to be used to try and stop bleeding during delivery. It is then removed before the patient is discharged.
However, early on Monday morning this week, which was a holiday for the reed dance, the young mother complained of severe pain, dizziness and feeling weak, while bending in an attempt to mitigate pain in her belly region, focusing on the womb. She said they quickly rushed her to the hospital for further assessment.
According to Zanele, she was attended to by a different nurse who opened a file for her before treatment, as per the procedure.
What shocked them, she added, was that the file noted she suffered from a normal sickness—something she said added to their anger since they did not consider her condition normal, given that she had stayed with a piece of cloth inside her for a week.
She alleged that from there, the hospital staff became vigilant towards them and kept a close eye on them, to the extent of warning the young mother not to disclose what had befallen her to anybody.
The same instruction, Zanele added, was also extended to her.
*Fake names used to protect identity.
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