A heavily pregnant woman at Harare hospital walked with a still born baby hanging between her legs after nurses at the government hospital refused to assist.
The woman identified as Valerie Mashiri, 37, has become another victim of the industrial action being taken by nurses after they notified the government about their intention to embark on a strike. She revealed she started feeling labour pains at 1am in the morning and she and her husband visited Harare Hospital. She was shocked to be told by the nurses that her case was not an emergency.
“As l got to the nurse’s station, the nurse who attended me asked me what the problem was. I explained to her about the cramps and discharge. She then said to me, “Ndozvamafambira Husiku huno [Is this why you come all this way for in the thick of the night],” she said.
She returned to her home and came back to the hospital in the morning. The nurses ordered her to get a scan first despite her telling them she was experiencing severe pain.
“…at this time with what l was feeling and the emotional stress that l had explained, they should have at least checked if everything was ok. I was in pain and could hardly walk or stand but under such hostility, l had to be brave,” she told Health Times
Her husband took her to Pagomo Radiology and were shocked to hear the baby was no longer breathing. They returned to Harare Hospital maternity section with the woman’s still born baby now hanging between her legs.
Read More: Zimbabwe doctors, nurses, radiographers, midwives and all health workers go on strike
“We got to the maternity wing and l had part of my baby hanging down and l could not walk. My husband went inside. He said he told them that l couldn’t walk and they continued doing their own work ignoring me,” Mashiri said.
She was only rescued by the doctor on duty who realised the woman was in distress. It is at that point that the woman was told the nurses were striking.
Read More: Parirenyatwa sisters in charge go on strike