SODIQ OJUROUNGBE writes on how women are left with devastating consequences with some living shattered lives, permanent damage, and enduring lifelong pain after escaping death by a whisker from healthcare providers’ carelessness during childbirth
Although her surgery happened in 2001, 50-year-old Shakirat Adegoke has continued to battle the persistent pain that has become her unwelcome companion.
For two decades now, the pain of complications of childbirth enveloped her joy, but her eyes still sparkle with a fierce determination to reclaim her life.
The memories of that fateful day still linger, refusing to be extinguished by the passing of time.
Adegoke was eight months pregnant, hoping to have a successful delivery and carry her baby in her arms when disaster struck. The baby unfortunately died in her womb before it could get to nine months of delivery. Surgery at a private hospital in Surulere, Lagos, to remove the dead foetus left her with a mangled leg and a lifetime of regrets.
As she navigates the cramped corridors of her small apartment, Adegoke’s pace is slow, her leg dragging behind her like an anchor. The constant pain has become a familiar foe, one she battles with an arsenal of drugs and sheer willpower.
Lifetime of suffering
Sharing her experience with PUNCH Healthwise, Adegoke lamented that the surgery done to bring out her dead baby left her with a lifetime disability, pain, and suffering.
She said the procedure, meant to save her life, ended in tragedy with a severely damaged leg.
She said her ordeal began at Randle General Hospital, Surulere, where doctors were on strike at the time it was discovered that the baby had died in her womb.
Desperate for help, Adegoke said she was referred to a private hospital around Surulere where an evacuation was performed.
Adegoke, however, alleged that the doctor failed to remove all the blood, leaving her with retained products that made her unable to walk properly.
She explained that a second caesarean surgery was performed, but unfortunately, the damage had already been done.
As a result, Adegoke said she had corrective surgery at the National Orthopaedic Hospital in Igbobi, Lagos, but was unable to walk properly even after the third surgery.
She said her leg was left permanently damaged, and was told to undergo another operation eight years later to remove an infected temporary iron inserted to help her walk.
“I couldn’t use the iron they put inside the leg to walk for eight years and I had to go back to Igbobi hospital where I was told that the temporary iron they put inside had been infected and that they had to do another operation after eight years of undergoing the first leg operation.
“They inserted the iron themselves to help me walk because the stitches were yet to heal before I was discharged. So, I went back home and I used to go for a check up and pus had been coming out of the leg for eight years. It was after eight years they told me again that I would undergo another operation to remove the temporary iron that was put in my leg and put in another one, that was when I told them that I was not interested in any iron again.
“For those eight years, each time I go to the clinic I would be told to run a series of tests and take different antibiotics.”
Narrating her ordeal and how her present condition has affected her life, Adegoke said for over two decades, she had endured unimaginable pain, countless surgeries, and endless hospital visits.
She lamented that she had spent a fortune on treatments, and her life had been forever altered.
Husband abandoned marriage
Adegoke also told PUNCH Healthwise that her husband walked out of their marriage because he was unable to cope with her condition.
Adegoke said she longs to be a mother, to hold her child in her arms, but her condition has made that dream seem impossible.
The longing in her voice is palpable as she speaks of her desire for motherhood. “I want to feel a child’s kick in my womb, to hold my baby in my arms. But it seems like that’s a dream destined to remain out of reach.
She further said, “Since that incident, I could not get pregnant, even my husband left me, he said he couldn’t continue with the marriage because of my condition and I have no child because the first pregnancy I had led to this leg problem.
“My husband left me when pus started coming out from my leg. My family has been so supportive, they are the ones helping me because I could not do anything. I also lost my father during this struggle and it worsened the situation for me.”
“I have tried to remarry, to find someone who can accept me for who I am, but no one wants a woman who can’t walk properly, who needs constant medical attention,” she lamented.
While noting that she had found solace in her faith, she maintained that she could not shake off the feeling of bitterness.
“I feel betrayed by the healthcare system. I feel like they failed me. For eight years, I was using antibiotics every day. The different antibiotics I used to take also led to me having ulcers,” she expressed.
When asked how much she has spent, Adegoke added, “ I am still using drugs, yet I can’t walk properly, I walk with a stick. Since 2001 when I have been nursing this leg, the money I have spent would buy land, build and furnish a big house. It would even do a lot more than that because it is huge.”
For over two decades, Adegoke has struggled to make ends meet. Her condition has made her unable to work, forcing her to rely on others for survival.
“It’s a constant struggle. I have to depend on my family and friends to feed me, to take care of me.”
“It’s humiliating, I feel like I have lost my dignity,” she stated.
Just like Adegoke, many other women have ended up facing the devastating consequences of deadly mistakes made during caesarean deliveries.
Many of them have fallen victim to medical negligence, resulting in either death or a lifetime of pain and suffering.
The operating room is supposed to be a sanctuary of healing, where skilled surgeons and medical professionals work tirelessly to repair and restore the human body.
But for some, PUNCH Healthwise observed that the place meant to bring solace and recovery becomes a scene of unspeakable horror.
A 2023 report by the World Health Organisation titled ‘Improving maternal and newborn health and survival and reducing stillbirth: Progress Report 2023,’ revealed that Nigeria took second place after India in the latest ranking of countries with the highest number of maternal and child mortality.
According to the report, in 2020, about 540 women and children per thousand died in Nigeria, while 788 women and children died per thousand in India.
Nigeria was also noted to account for 12 per cent of global maternal, and neonatal deaths and stillbirths, and India was pegged at 17 per cent.
Complications and infections that often happen after a botched C-section have been identified as some of the causes of maternal deaths in the country.
According to a study by Johns Hopkins, wrong patients, wrong body parts, and wrong procedure surgeries happen about 20 times per week.
The study revealed that surgical errors involving a foreign object left inside a patient’s body occur on average 39 times per week.
The researchers discovered that nearly 33 per cent of surgical never-events victims suffer permanent injury, and almost 7 per cent of never-events cause patient death.
Less than 9,000 gynaecologists
The Society of Gynaecology and Obstetrics of Nigeria recently revealed that the country has about 9,000 gynaecologists to take care of maternal health.
The President of SOGON, Dr. Habib Sadauki, who highlighted the figures in an exclusive interview with PUNCH Healthwise, decried the low number of gynaecologists, noting that it was grossly inadequate.
While expressing worry that the number could be reduced further by brain drain, he said there could be some gynaecologists practising in Nigeria but are not registered with the association.
The gynaecologist said lack of access to skilled birth attendants negatively impacts pregnancy outcomes, revealing that about 80 per cent of women in the country still deliver their babies at home.
Sadauki expressed worry over the high rate of maternal deaths in the country, noting that Nigeria is far from achieving the Sustainable Development Goal target of reducing the maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 live births by 2030.
Due to the shortage of maternal experts in the country, botched surgeries, like the one Adegoke endured, were a significant contributor to high maternal mortality as many pregnant women died from avoidable complications during childbirth.
In many cases, PUNCH Healthwise discovered that these women were left with severe injuries, chronic pain, and emotional trauma. Some are even forced to live with permanent disabilities, making everyday tasks a struggle.
It was observed that the impact of these errors extends beyond the individual, affecting families and communities as a whole.
WHO described CS as an essential and lifesaving surgery in situations such as prolonged or obstructed labour, fetal distress, or because the baby is presenting in an abnormal position.
Despite the multiple roles CS plays in saving the lives of both pregnant women and babies, PUNCH Healthwise, however, observed that the alleged negligence by some hospitals and doctors had led to not just complications, but certain objects known as foreign bodies being forgotten inside the women.
Scissors forgotten in the abdomen
Some days ago, a Lagos-based mother of three, Okoye Ogochukwu, cried out for justice after facing complications from poorly executed surgeries at Faith City Hospital in Ajao Estate.
In an exclusive interview with The PUNCH, Ogochukwu said she developed swelling and complications due to particles left inside her when she underwent a C-section in May 2023, to deliver her baby.
Following the delivery, she noted that she began feeling severe pain in her abdomen with swollen legs.
When she complained, she noted that instead of taking it with seriousness, her doctor, Ejim Chibike, made a joke about her pains, saying she was getting fat and needed to exercise.
Only a few days later, her condition took a drastic turn for the worse. She was rushed back to the hospital, where she was told that Chibike was unavailable. Instead, another doctor, Johnson, attended to her and ordered a series of scans and X-rays where the result showed retained products of conception in her womb.
With this, Ogochukwu said she underwent another surgery to remove the object, noting that despite undergoing a second surgery at the same hospital to remove the object, her condition worsened as the surgeon left some stitches unremoved, leaving her with another hopeless as the pain continued.
In just two months, she said she underwent three traumatic surgeries, each compounding her suffering, adding that doctors eventually informed her that her womb was severely damaged and she would never be able to have more children.
“I wanted to have three children, but now I can’t have anymore,” she said, her voice heavy with grief.
Sanitary pad abandoned inside another woman
Medinatu Jaiyeoba (not real name) was another victim who had to undergo another operation after doctors reportedly forgot a sanitary pad in her stomach during a caesarean section.
Medinatu, who is in her mid-twenties, spoke with Daily Trust and narrated how she experienced severe complications following childbirth in 2021.
Medinatu, who delivered her baby in December 2021 at a private hospital operated by Dr. Shuaibu, initially faced no issues.
However, upon returning home, she began to suffer from intense stomach pain, prompting further visits to the hospital.
During one of these visits, Medinatu described a disturbing incident where Dr. Shuaibu manually removed a sanitary pad from her body without proper care, and insisted on charging her for this procedure.
“It was horrific for me and my husband to watch the doctor pulling a sanitary pad through my private parts with his bare hand at one of our hospital appointments.
“The most irritating part was that he insisted we had to pay for the process of removing the pad which was a mistake on his part in the first place. He did not even consider my health and the pain I was going through,” Medinatu said.
The situation escalated when Medinatu collapsed at a market in Jebba, leading to her transfer to the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital.
At UITH, doctors diagnosed her with congenital fistula, a serious condition resulting in abnormal discharge. Medinatu has since undergone three surgeries in less than four months, including operations for the fistula and an appendix.
Another victim
A woman identified only as Hajarat was also rushed to UITH amid severe complications from childbirth.
Hajarat, who underwent two previous cesarean sections, suffered a critical situation after her second delivery at a private hospital in Ilorin.
Following the birth of her second child, Hajarat began experiencing severe stomach pain. Initially reassured by her family, her symptoms escalated on the day of her child’s naming ceremony, leading to vomiting, diarrhoea, and coughing. She was briefly stabilised at a private hospital but faced worsening pain over the following month.
After a referral from Ilorin General Hospital, Hajarat was admitted to UITH, where doctors performed several scans but initially found no issues.
During a subsequent operation, two sanitary pads were discovered inside her abdomen, which had been causing severe internal complications.
Following the removal of the pads, Hajarat continued to experience bleeding and was moved to the trauma centre.
Despite further surgery to address internal bleeding, Hajarat’s situation remains critical.
“This time, a pipe had already been inserted into my stomach and it was one of the doctors that raised the alarm when he saw blood coming out through the pipe that I was already having internal bleeding. They wheeled me to the theatre again for another operation to stop the bleeding.
“Now, we have been advised to stop childbearing because I left four incisions already and another one may be devastating. That is why we are contemplating removing my womb because my second pregnancy that got us here was due to a failed pregnancy pill,” she added.
Doctors are human
A consultant gynaecologist who pleaded anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue said some of the issues were mistakes and not negligence from doctors as widely reported.
The maternal health expert noted that doctors are also meant to make mistakes and people should not always crucify them when such happens.
He argued, “There are a lot of things that happen during surgery and it is a very tense process that we doctors embark on daily. It is not always easy to do surgery, but we still do it because it is our job.
“Mistakes abound in any profession, but ours are always taken out of proportion and you see people crucify us for it. No doctor would deliberately forget items in the womb of his patients. At times, it is the situation and pressure that warrants that. We must start understanding that we are also human and to err is human, to forgive is divine.”
Experts weigh in
Meanwhile, health experts raised concerns about the risks associated with failure to observe operating protocols during C-section procedures and the critical importance of adhering to surgical protocols to avoid complications.
The experts, including a surgeon and a gynaecologist, said the critical factor in carrying out a C-section was not just specialisation, but the practitioner’s competence and experience.
Both experts agreed on the severity of complications that could arise from retained foreign objects, including infections and other health issues.
They emphasised the importance of promptly removing any foreign objects discovered and adhering to established surgical guidelines to ensure patient safety and optimal care.
A renowned obstetrician and gynaecologist, Dr. Joseph Akinde highlighted the necessity of strict adherence to surgical protocols to avoid leaving foreign objects inside the patient.
The former chairman of the Society of Gynaecology and Obstetrics of Nigeria, Lagos chapter, explained that before starting a C-section, the number of instruments should be counted, and this count should be verified at the end of the surgery.
The reproductive expert noted that any discrepancies in the count need to be resolved before closing the abdomen to prevent complications that could arise from retained foreign objects.
“It has severe consequences when foreign objects are forgotten inside a woman. There could be complications like intestinal obstruction, patients will not be well, they will not recover from the surgery, and in the long run, it might lead to death,” he stated.
On how to reduce the recurrence of such incidents, the maternal health expert said, “C-sections should be carried out by qualified, and competent medical doctors with appropriate experience. There should also be protocols and guidelines for all these procedures.
“One of the protocols is that when you are starting this operation, you count the number of instruments you are starting with and when you want to close the abdomen, you count the number of instruments there. So, when one is missing you don’t close the abdomen until you locate that one that is missing. People should take a little more precaution, and follow the recommended protocols and guidelines, then these things would be minimised.”
On his part, a consultant orthopaedic surgeon, Dr. Babajide Saheed noted that while the presence of foreign objects in the abdomen was rare, it was more likely to occur during emergency C-sections where urgency might lead to oversights.
Saheed, who is also the chairman of the Nigerian Medical Association in Lagos State, stressed that in such high-pressure situations, the focus on immediate patient care can sometimes compromise protocol adherence.
Addressing systemic factors, the orthopaedic surgeon pointed out that the shortage of medical professionals and the high workload contribute to the problem.
He argued that a thorough review and improvement of the healthcare system, especially primary care, is essential to reducing the frequency of emergency C-sections and the associated risks.
He added, “The major thing is that our health system must be looked into in terms of primary health care. If the primary health care is good, and people are having normal deliveries at proper times, people won’t go to quacks or traditional birth attendants, then we would have fewer incidents happening.
“It is an area we must look at and rework. The major thing is for us to look at how we can change the system holistically.
“Also, the pressure of patients on the number of little doctors we have. For example in a hospital, they may have been doing one CS from morning till the next day. It might just be one or two people on call. Gynae is the most difficult job because they are short of specialists and they do everything.
“Most of the cases are surgeries done at night. I am not supporting the errors, I am just letting you know how the shortage also contributes to the problem.
“We need more hands, not doctors doing more than one job. It is a complex situation that needs proper attention.”
