Controversy surrounds baby death

Apr 07, 2011 News

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By Latoya Giles

The Georgetown Public Hospital has again come under criticism following the death of a baby girl, last Friday, April 1.
The young distraught parents, Tiffanie Leacock and Sherwin Williams, of Haslington, East Coast Demerara, told this newspaper, that if doctors had followed a referral letter; their baby would have been alive.
Leacock explained that she went into labour on Friday last and was taken to the CC Nicholson Hospital at Nabaclis, East Coast Demerara.
At the hospital, Leacock said that the “on duty” doctor informed her that her baby was in a breech position.
The young mother said that she was given a referral letter from that hospital to the Georgetown Hospital. On the referral letter it was noted that Leacock needed a Caesarian Section, instead of vaginal delivery.
Upon her arrival at the Georgetown Public Hospital Leacock said that she was taken to the labour room for observation.
Kaieteur News was told that the on duty doctor who looked after Leacock was a relatively “young Cuban-trained” doctor.
The doctor also confirmed that the baby was in a breech position and that she was in the advance stages of labour.
The woman said that the doctor examined her and told her that the baby was coming from the foot.
“After he examined he told me that the baby was coming from the foot…..he also clipped my water bag,” Leacock explained.
The referral letter which stated that Leacock should have undergone a Caesarian section was totally disregarded and the doctor said that she would be delivering the baby vaginally.
Leacock estimated that she spent almost an hour pushing intensely after which she eventually delivered her baby. She said that after delivering the baby Leacock said that the doctor quickly called the on duty nurses and whispered something to them.
Even though the woman said she heard her baby cry, the doctor along with the nurses told her that the baby was a “stillborn.”
Leacock said that the doctors and nurses told her that the baby was born with her small intestines protruding and there was no way the baby could have survived.
Not wanting to take their word for it, Leacock said she began questioning the hospital officials and they tried to give her a “flimsy” excuse.
The woman and her husband maintain that the hospital was at fault. The woman said that she told officials that she had taken an ultrasound and nothing was detected. The ultrasound was taken on March 29 by Dr Nainiappan Daniel.
“I took the ultrasound at a private institution….and nothing wrong was detected and if something of that nature indeed happened before delivery I’m sure it would have been detected,” Leacock said.
She said that the doctor inquired from her if she had taken any medication during pregnancy and she answered in the negative.
“I didn’t take any drugs during my pregnancy…I had a normal pregnancy without any complications,” Leacock maintained. Further the woman said that the doctors at the GPHC are now claiming that the doctor who did the ultrasound was not certified.
Feeling that they were being pushed around, the distraught parents said they went back to the private institution where Leacock had seen the doctor for the ultrasound.
It was explained to the couple that something of that nature would and could have been detected during the ultrasound.
Further the couple was told that the problem had to have occurred during the delivery.
In an invited comment yesterday Dr Nainiappan Daniel sought to clarify reports about him not being qualified.
The doctor said that he has been practising in Guyana for the past 20 years and has been at the Mercy Hospital for the past 10 years.
Dr. Daniel produced his certification from the American Society of Diagnostic Medical Center which deals primarily with ultrasound training. Daniel said that he regularly updates his qualifications.
The doctor explained that the day he did Leacock’s ultrasound there were no abnormalities in the fetus.
He said that the parents were given the privilege of hearing the baby’s heartbeat. “They saw everything….no defects were seen in the ultrasound,” Daniels told Kaieteur News.
Daniels made it clear that if anything was wrong the ultrasound would have picked it up. Further he said that the baby suffered from a congenital defect.
He explained what could make the intestines protrude.
Firstly, the doctor explained, a baby’s abdominal walls are very weak. If pressure is put on it, it can open.
He added that the uterus which would be contracting during birth, can cause double pressure that presses the already weak abdominal wall and in most cases it would burst.
And thirdly, the doctor said, the baby’s umbilical cord can open at birth and become enlarged placing pressure on the weak abdominal wall and forcing the stomach contents to protrude. This, he said, is called viscera, which would be fatal.
The doctor went on to explain that in cases when the baby is in the breech position it is very risky to do a vaginal delivery.
“The doctors should have done a Caesarian section instead,” Dr Daniel explained.
Efforts to contact the Georgetown Hospital yesterday for a comment proved futile. Last year the GPHC had come under severe criticism after a string of maternal deaths at the institution.
Investigations into those deaths are yet to be completed and made public.

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