A heavily pregnant Bulawayo woman reportedly lost her baby in a bizarre situation, Tuesday after she gave birth while relieving herself in a toilet and the baby died after it fell into the toilet bowl.
The 27-year-old woman from Mpopoma suburb was reportedly due and her aunt was preparing to accompany her to the hospital when the incident happened.
Narrating the ordeal to CITE, the aunt Sichelesile Sibanda, said her niece was vomiting in the morning and they were making arrangements to take her to the hospital when the baby came.
A neighbour, Nyaradzo Munandi, said the incident left them in a state of shock.
“The woman was pregnant and she stays with an aunt and a grandmother, so it seems she left the house going to the toilet unattended, someone outside saw her vomiting and asked her if she was in labor, she denied and entered the toilet,” said Munandi.
“When her aunt went to check on her, she found that she had already given birth and unfortunately the baby fell inside the toilet bowl. When we asked her, she just said she felt contractions when she was already in the toilet and what bothers me is why she never screamed to alert us.”
Ward 9 Councillor Donaldson Mabutho who visited the family said it was negligence on the part of the family members. “It was negligence on the part of the people who were supposed to assist this lady because she was properly registered, they knew that she was pregnant and she was due to deliver,” said Cllr Mabutho.
Contacted for a comment, Bulawayo Police Spokesperson Inspector Abednico Ncube said he had not received the report.
According to the latest Bulawayo City Council report, the City has recorded a 53 percent increase in the number of women who deliver at home or on their way to health institutions owing to Covid-19.
