Mom’s street birth ordeal

[caption id="attachment_209564" align="aligncenter" width="426"] Sandiswa Thunyiswa and her baby boy, Khayone
Picture: Mark West[/caption]

Woman says she was forced to have baby in public after clinic turned her away

Lying on a pavement in pain and in full view of neighbours was the way Sandiswa Thunyiswa had to give birth to her baby boy after she was allegedly sent home by a nurse at the Booysen Park clinic, who insisted she was not in labour.

Thunyiswa’s scheduled checkup on Wednesday went terribly wrong.

At 38 weeks pregnant she was experiencing lower back pains that, based on her previous two pregnancies, convinced the 29-year-old she was in labour.

But, she claims, nurses insisted she was not in labour, gave her pain medication and sent her on her way.

Thunyiswa says that after taking measurements of her stomach, a nurse insisted the pains were normal as the baby was shifting in her belly.

However, about 50m from the clinic the pain had become so severe Thunyiswa was doubled over and in need of urgent assistance.

Thanks to a quick-thinking passer-by, Thandiwe Monese, 39, also of Booysen Park, little Khayone was delivered safely.

Both mom and baby are recovering well in their Booysen Park home.

Thunyiswa said: “I had been sitting in the line at the clinic since 8am and felt nothing, but just before I went in to consult with the nurse I felt this sharp pain in my lower back and immediately knew that I was in labour.

“The nurse examined my belly with a plastic device and told me I wasn’t in labour and that the pain I was feeling was just from the baby moving,” she said.

She said she had been concerned that the nurse had not undertaken a pelvic examination.

“I was walking home but just as I was walking I noticed the pain was getting intense and that the baby was coming.

I couldn’t walk any more, so I got on my knees,” Thunyiswa said.

In a matter of minutes more than 30 residents had gathered around and watched the scene unfold.