The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health has launched an investigation into the alleged mistreatment of a woman during labour at Addington Hospital in Durban. This follows a social media post claiming that the woman was forced to walk to the labour ward while in labour, resulting in her baby falling onto the floor.
The post was accompanied by a photo of a woman wearing a hospital gown standing in a hospital hallway with what appears to be the body of a newborn baby on the floor next to her.
“We are deeply troubled by allegations that a patient in an advanced stage of labour was asked to walk to the labour ward, resulting in the infant being delivered en route,” the department said in response to questions from Health-e News. “The clinical assessment leading up to this instruction is a key focus of our investigation.”
Although the social media post claimed the baby died, the department told Health-e News it met with the woman and her family this week, and ‘both mother and baby are alive and healthy.’
“We are deeply troubled by the false and distressing claim that the newborn infant passed away,” the department says.
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Witnesses told Health-e News that the woman arrived at the hospital on 7 September 2025, in advanced labour and urgently seeking help. Instead of being admitted right away, she was allegedly instructed by a nurse to walk to the labour ward. Moments later, she gave birth while en route.
An internal source at Addington Hospital, speaking anonymously to Health-e News, claims this isn’t an isolated incident.
“This happens often. Patients are left to suffer while nurses overlook them. There’s a significant accountability issue here,” says the insider.
Outside the hospital, a vendor who’s been selling goods nearby for six years, says she has witnessed similar incidents.
“We see women coming here all the time, crying for help and not receiving it. It’s heartbreaking, yet it continues,” she says.
Health-e News was unable to speak to the woman in question, or her family.
Fact-finding
The department says it’s treating the incident with the “utmost seriousness and is committed to a thorough, objective investigation to establish all facts”.
Addington Hospital management is required to submit a full report to the department by the end of this week. – Health-e News
