Baby decapitated during birth

A WINDHOEK woman is battling to come to terms with the death of her baby, following a gruesome incident in which the baby was decapitated during birth on Sunday.

The 24-year-old mother, who preferred to remain anonymous, said her baby’s head was ripped from the body, allegedly by a doctor who was attending to her during birth.

The mother of two, Melisa (not her real name), told this reporter that what was an exciting anticipation of the birth of her child turned into a nightmare for her. “What is so painful is that the nurses and the doctor were so rude to me, especially after the doctor had pulled my baby’s head from its body”.

“He kept saying to me ‘look what you have done’, and threw her head on the bed. How can a person do that to another person?” she cried.

Melisa said she arrived at the Windhoek Central Hospital around 12h00 that day, and was immediately admitted to the delivery room.

“After examination, they told me I was dilated by five centimetres, so I waited. But the baby wanted to come out, and the nurses shouted at me not to push, but the baby was pushing from the inside, and I was doing my best not to push,” she explained.

She said the doctor told her it was not yet time to deliver, but a nurse informed him that the head of the baby was already out. “I think he tried to pull the baby out, but he did not get it right. So, he cut my vagina, and continued pulling. The next thing, he throws the baby’s head on the bed and starts blaming me. The baby’s body was later removed through a Caesarian section.

“He told me that I will be sent for a C-section to remove the rest of the body. He was so rude, as if he was not the one who had just pulled my little girl’s head off,” an emotional Melisa continued.

She said the doctor took pictures of her, and forced her to look at them.

“I refused. I did not want to remember my baby like that. They killed my baby. My uncle was at the mortuary, and her head is apparently placed next to her body. I will have nightmares forever,” said Melisa.

Health executive director Ben Nangombe confirmed the incident, and said an investigation into the matter is underway.

He described the incident as tragic and unfortunate.

“I confirm we have an incident like that. We are, however, investigating it, and it is really difficult to say what happened at this point,” Nangombe said, adding that the ministry is assisting the family with counselling.