Nandy Collins, the young mother who delivered a premature baby boy at a Nabaclis barber shop on the East Coast Demerara on Saturday night recounted a harrowing experience in which she almost gave up on the birth of her first son.
Yesterday, during a visit to the family’s home at Ann’s Grove, ECD, the 23-year old mother of three and her partner Otis Barry were high in praise of barber Devon Sam, who delivered the five-pound baby at his barber shop, a few doors away from the Dr CC Nicholson Hospital where there were no medical staff at the time.
Collins recounted that around 8 pm on Saturday, she began to experience “baby pains” and she and her partner walked out to the road from their home aback of Ann’s Grove in search of a taxi with her bag with clothes and other belongings for the anticipated birth. The couple caught a car and initially was headed to the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH) in the city.
However, the young mother, who was in the eighth month of her pregnancy, stated that the pains were too much, and the couple decided to search for the nearest medical institution. She said that as the driver of the car sped towards the Dr CC Nicholson Hospital, her situation became dire. By this time, she was almost out of breath. “I deh almost give up …too much pain,” the soft-spoken woman added.
According to her husband, when they arrived at the hospital, there was no one on duty; ”no doctor, no nurse no nobody… not even a guard”. He said as confusion started to get the better of him, he proceeded to seek assistance from persons living along the streets leading to the hospital, while his wife cried out in pain.
“We didn’t had nobody to help we. We went looking for a nurse or a midwife and I de trying to see what to do,” the young father recounted, when they encountered Sam, who was closing his barber shop for the night.
“We go to he and ask he if he know anybody who could help we because she been bad,” the man said. His wife added that as the pains numbed her body, she felt the baby’s head and according to her, the barber sprang into action. She said the rest of the experience was a blur.
Her husband, who by this time was totally confused, admitted, “I didn’t know what to do. I was just standing with me sister and we look on and Devon tek out the baby.”
He said the barber hit the baby on his foot to get a sound and later handed him to his sister. He said the man then hopped onto a bicycle in search of a midwife and according to him, soon after several women arrived at the barber shop. He said a midwife later arrived at the scene and after ensuring that the woman’s after birth had been taken out, she was placed in a taxi and taken to the GPH.
“We try going back to the [Nicholson] hospital fuh get the ambulance and somebody said they had some function and that the ambulance that been there didn’t have a driver,” the man stated.
Collins was admitted to the maternity ward of the GPH and was discharged yesterday afternoon. She said the baby is healthy and according to her during her pregnancy she ensured that she regularly visited the health centre at Ann’s Grove.
Asked whether the family found a name the baby, Barry said he was sure “Devon” will be included on his birth certificate.
Meanwhile, the parents of the newborn yesterday found Sam and expressed their heartfelt gratitude to him. He was also formally introduced to the baby he assisted in entering the world.
Sam had recounted to Stabroek News on Sunday how he managed to deliver the baby. He said “I run to she and tell she put she foot up and I take a towel and put it under she; then I tell she breathe in and push. When she do that the baby start coming out and I tell she breathe in and push again, and more of the baby come out. So I tell she, good breathe and push one more time”.
A male resident of Nabaclis contacted this newspaper and indicated that the incident happened mere minutes after he had viewed a news story about a health fair that was held at the hospital on Saturday.
When this newspaper visited the hospital yesterday, a senior official there denied that no one was on hand to assist the young couple. She said that the hospital was always staffed.
However, this newspaper understands that there are several problems facing the Dr CC Nicholson Hospital, including a shortage of accredited/registered midwives. Reports are that two recently trained midwives at the hospital are unable to perform their midwifery duties since they have not been registered as midwives.
There are also reports that the midwife quarters at the hospital has been in a state of disrepair for some time.
Region Four Chairman Clement Corlette said yesterday that he was informed by the District Medical Officer/Regional Health Office responsible for the ECD that no midwife was available at the medical institution on Saturday night due to a medical field day at the hospital, in which the entire medical staff participated.
He said the office of the Regional Executive Officer, which has responsibility for the upkeep of the hospital, was informed repeatedly about the state of the hospital.
He expressed concern over the situation, adding that the Regional Administrative Committee of Region Four was never informed of the poor state of the hospital. (Additional reporting by Marcelle Thomas)
