“Why would the hospital do something that will traumatise me for the rest of my life?”
Itumeleng Baloyi, 27, keeps asking herself this question nearly two months after the double trauma of losing her unborn baby boy a month shy of her due date and finding out just days after his death that she was given the wrong baby to bury.
The young woman had been eagerly anticipating the birth of her second child and had picked out a name for the baby — Kagoentle. Her pregnancy had progressed well until the eighth month, when a routine check-up picked up an issue with her baby.
Baloyi's ordeal started on February 28 after her local clinic referred her to Matlala Hospital in Marble Hall, Limpopo, after nurses discovered her baby had no heartbeat.
Upon her arrival at the hospital, she was taken for a sonar scan, and it was then that she was given the devastating news.
“The doctor confirmed that the baby had died and advised that I could get a second opinion from a private doctor if I had doubts, but I declined. The doctor then told me he'd only operate a day later given my emotional state.
“A day later, the doctor returned and did another scan, and it reaffirmed the diagnosis. I was then given pills to induce labour. I was discharged on Friday [March 1], along with the baby, who was buried that same day,” she said.
Baloyi detailed the anguish she felt in the ensuing days.
“I was so emotional and couldn't look at the baby. Making things worse is the fact that the mothers around me left with their babies while I had to carry mine out in a box.
“It was painful, even when we arrived home my aunt told me to go sit with my four-year-old child so he wouldn't be exposed to this, so I didn't see the baby at all.”
Baloyi then began the painful journey to healing but suffered a major setback just four days later when the hospital contacted her aunt to tell her they had given the family the wrong baby to bury.
This despite the aunt's repeated concerns when they first received the baby's body. The woman had noticed that the baby looked like it had reached fullterm, while Baloyi had been eight months pregnant at the time of her stillbirth.
“The morgue insisted that it was the correct baby [at the time]. My sister wanted us to sue the hospital, but my aunt talked us out of it, saying that people make mistakes.
“My aunt then told the hospital to take care of the burial as she'd paid for the first one, and they agreed. They then asked her to return with me to the hospital so I can confirm that this is indeed my child. I did so,” she recalled.
This added salt to an already painful wound as she now had go over the entire process again.
I was so emotional and couldn't look at the baby. Making things worse is the fact that the mothers around me left with their babies while I had to carry mine out in a box
Baloyi confirmed that the hospital arranged to exhume the first baby's body from her family's gravesite, but this is yet to happen. She said officials initially suggested leaving the body there as it had already been buried, but this was vetoed by her aunt.
She detailed her family's struggle to get answers on the exhumation process, saying: “When my aunt follows up, she's told the matter is being handled at a higher level.”
She also spoke of the daily trauma the incident has caused, worsened by a return visit to the hospital for what she believed was a meeting to discuss the issue.
Instead, she was told to settle her outstanding bill and about the counselling sessions they offered.
“I was angry [with the hospital] because I had become a talking point among the staff. It was too much for me, and I questioned why the hospital would do something that would traumatise me for the rest of my life.”
“I want the hospital to exhume the [first] baby because I'll never fully heal. For example, I went to the cemetery over Easter and I saw the grave [and it hurt]. Also, everyone is talking about the situation, so the trauma will never end,” she said.
Limpopo health spokesperson Neil Shikwambana confirmed the mix-up to TimesLIVE Premium, explaining that officials had become aware of it days after the first baby was buried.
“The hospital authorities approached the family to inform them of the mistake. The hospital took full responsibility for the burial costs for the right body. Furthermore, the hospital arranged for the mother to be seen by a psychologist as a way to assist her to deal with the trauma.
On the delays in exhuming the first baby's remains, Shikwambana said this was because “exhuming a body after burial is governed by legislation that involves other stakeholders such as the municipalities and justice”.
“An application to have the body exhumed has been lodged by the hospital, and engagements are ongoing between local authorities and traditional leaders on the issue.”
The department confirmed that support had been offered to Baloyi in the form of counselling, in addition to covering the burial costs.
On why Baloyi was being told of a bill she had to settle, he said: “The issue of payment was not demanded, but it appeared in her hospital bill as per standard procedure. But because this was a specially arranged session, the amount will be written off, hence it was not demanded from her. This should have been thoroughly explained to her.”
Shikwambana was unable to comment on what, if any, disciplinary action would be taken over the mix-up.
“We cannot pre-empt the outcomes of the consequence management process at this stage,” he said.
