Rukaya Abubakar claims it was a horrible day for her on a cool morning in January 2023. A pregnant Mrs Abubakar just woke up from labour.

She had told her husband that she wanted eight children. Here was the fifth knocking, and that brought joy to the 25-year-old.

With the help of neighbours, she was taken to the community Public Health Centre (PHC) in Daddere, just a kilometre away from her house.

At the PHC, Mrs Abubakar said ”she was given several injections and then referred to another hospital after some hours”. ”These interventions” she said, ”changed her life forever”.

“She (the nurse) began to inject me immediately without wasting time. The instant injections caused me serious pain, I was just roaring on the floor of the clinic, and I couldn’t get up for some moments.

“The nurse asked me if I felt strong enough to push the baby after the injections, to which I answered ‘yes’, but they kept injecting me. I shouted at the hospital that I would die, I told my husband to take me out of the hospital,” she narrated.

Her plea was granted. Soon, she was on her way to Dalhatu Specialist Hospital.

“Before they could touch me, they called the attention of my husband and my brothers who went with me; they told them that I wouldn’t be able to give birth again.

“The nurse at the Specialist (hospital), Lafia, told me that I have sustained damage in the womb and my baby is no longer alive, that I will be operated on.

“The nurse told me I will be operated on because I had some damage in my womb that I will not be able to give birth again. I asked the reasons behind it, and I was told if I were not operated on, I would lose my life as well,” she said, recalling the incident.

Mrs Abubakar said her dream of bearing eight children ”has come to a close”. She is no medical expert, but she strongly believes ”the lackadaisical attitude and wrong prescription at the Daddere PHC caused her predicament”.

“Reaching the Dalhatu Specialist Lafia, my husband and I were excited and nervous, waiting to hear good results. I couldn’t believe what I later heard from the doctor. My dream of having eight children just came to an end.

“That was the hardest week of our lives. I stayed at the hospital for a week after the operation was successful, getting my womb removed. Carrying a baby inside the womb for nine months, feeling all the kicks and touching at the end when you lose her is a lifetime experience,” Mrs Abubakar said.

Some community members who spoke on the state of the PHC also expressed their dissatisfaction.

Zainab Bashir, a resident of Daddere and a mother of four children, says she prefers to give birth at home.

“I gave birth to my four children at home because our health facility lacks personnel.”

Nasarawa, a North-central state, is reported to have the highest rate of maternal and infant mortality within the region.

With a population of over two million people, the state is reported to have lost about 700 women per 10,000 live births and 103 children per 1,000 live births annually, according to a World Bank report in 2017.

Daddere PHC reacts

Meanwhile, the head of Daddere Primary Health Centre, Hassana Osabo, has denied the allegation of Mrs Abubakar.

She says the facility ”didn’t inject or place Rukaya on medication which later led to her loss of baby and womb”.

She said, ”Mrs Abubakar’s loss of her baby and womb can be traced to complications she sustained during her last delivery.”

“Rukaya Abubakar had some complications during her last pregnancy, and when she was rushed into our facility in January, we discovered we cannot attend to her, our midwife was the one attending to her before I came in. She didn’t administer any injections or drugs to Mrs Rukaya.

“However, during her antenatal, the scan results only saw her baby was too big, which could be a major setback for her during delivery because of the last complication she sustained.

“When we noticed the problem and our facility’s inability to deliver her, we quickly referred her to Dalhatu Specialist, Lafia, where the proper operations were carried out”, Mrs Osabo said.

Share this: Twitter

Facebook

WhatsApp

Telegram

LinkedIn

Email

Print

