By Kenesha Fraser
A 25-year-old mother of two and clerk at the Region Two Department of Education Office died on Tuesday at the Suddie Hospital along with her unborn child, and her mother is blaming hospital officials for neglecting to provide blood transfusions.
Bavanie Rampersaud called Ann of Hampton Court Village, Essequibo Coast was taken to the hospital on Monday afternoon after she was experiencing a high fever, her mother Meena Prashad said.
“My daughter was almost seven months pregnant and after she had a fever on Monday, her husband took her to the hospital,” she said. “At the hospital, a female doctor told a nurse to give Bavanie an injection for the fever and then they sent her home.”
The woman said the injection apparently did more harm than good since her daughter started experiencing unbearable pains in her back and abdomen.
“We took her back to the hospital on Tuesday morning around 4 am because Bavanie keep telling us that she think the baby die in her,” Prashad said. “When we reach at the hospital they did an ultrasound and they told us that indeed the baby had died.
We were expecting the doctors to operate on her right away but they didn’t. They put her on drips and she made the baby. A dead baby. My daughter was bleeding plenty all the time. Till five hours later then they take her into the theatre to operate on her and none of them took out the afterbirth.”
Prashad added that since her daughter was bleeding profusely, she had expected the doctors to ask for blood from family members to administer to Rampersaud.
“My husband, my son and my daughter were there waiting to donate blood to my daughter but nobody never asked. The doctors didn’t give her blood,” the distraught woman said.
When contacted by this newspaper, a senior official at the hospital, who did not want his name published said that all efforts were made to save the woman.
“Rampersaud was 23 weeks pregnant and she came to the hospital complaining of belly pains,” the official said. “According to the patient, she had inserted a tablet through her vagina about a week before. I am not sure why she did that or what the tablet was that she inserted.”
Asked about this, Prashad said that her daughter had developed an infection during the pregnancy and she had visited the Oscar Joseph District Hospital at Charity the previous week, where she might have been treated for the infection. “I will not be able to say if my daughter inserted any tablet into her vagina because she did not tell me that,” the grieving woman said.
Meanwhile, according to the Suddie Hospital official, the ultrasound “found that the baby was infected and had died a few days before in her womb. Rampersaud also had a high fever and my team of gynaecologists induced labour to take the baby out. We went into operation and she was bleeding a lot and we could not stop the bleeding. We then removed the uterus and she was still bleeding profusely. Unfortunately, the patient died. My entire team tried to save her and we are really sorry for what happened.”
When asked if any officials from the hospital spoke with the family after the death of Rampersaud, Prashad said this was not done.
“A technician came out and tell us that Bavanie died and then they shut the door on us and we couldn’t go in,” she said. “I am angry because I know they killed my daughter. They had to get blood while operating but they didn’t. Now my daughter is dead.”
Meanwhile, Women For Change, the women’s arm of the Alliance For Change is calling for an urgent and detailed investigation in to the death of Rampersaud and her unborn child.
In a statement, it said that the Alliance For Change has repeatedly highlighted the inadequacies within the public health system and in particular, the conditions at the Suddie Hospital.
“Too many young women die during child’s birth under questionable care”, the party said.
