Please note the following story carries some graphic detail and is not for sensitive readers.
A baby was decapitated during birth at a hospital in Namibia, the Namibian newspaper reported on Wednesday.
The 24-year-old mother, who preferred to remain anonymous, told the newspaper that her baby's head was ripped from the body, allegedly by a doctor who was attending to her during the delivery on Sunday at the Windhoek Central Hospital.
"What is so painful is that the nurses and the doctor were so rude to me, especially after the doctor had pulled my baby's head from its body. He kept saying to me 'look what you have done', and threw her head on the bed. How can a person do that to another person?” she cried.
She said she had tried not to push the baby out after nurses warned that she was not yet fully dilated. At one point, the doctor told her it was not yet time to deliver, but a nurse informed him the baby's head was already out.
"I think he tried to pull the baby out, but he did not get it right. So, he cut my vagina and continued pulling. The next thing, he throws the baby's head on the bed and starts blaming me. The baby's body was later removed through a Caesarian section," the woman told the Namibian.
"He told me that I (would) be sent for a C-section to remove the rest of the body. He was so rude as if he was not the one who had just pulled my little girl's head off."
She said the doctor took pictures of the baby and tried to force the mother to look at them.
"I refused. I did not want to remember my baby like that. They killed my baby. My uncle was at the mortuary, and her head is apparently placed next to her body. I will have nightmares forever."
The newspaper quoted health executive director Ben Nangombe as confirming the incident, which he called tragic and unfortunate, adding that an investigation was underway.
"It is really difficult to say what happened at this point," Nangombe said, adding that the health minister was assisting the bereaved family with counselling.
- African News Agency (ANA)
