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A 23‑year‑old woman from the rural village of Esithumaba in KwaZulu‑Natal is traumatised after she says she miscarried unattended at St Mary’s Hospital in Marianhill, Durban.
Notile Mkhize, 18 weeks pregnant, arrived at the hospital at noon on a Friday, suffering severe pain. Staff told her her cervix was dilating and that a miscarriage was likely. Despite her distress, she says she was asked only to sit and wait.
“I was in terrible pain. They didn’t help me. They just said I must wait,” Mkhize recalls.
She says she was left to deliver the foetus alone, without assistance and sat bleeding for hours afterwards, completely ignored by hospital staff.
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According to Mkhize, while she sat on blood-soaked bedding, staff offered ‘no support, medical care, or even a word of comfort.’
“I had to look at my baby with my own eyes, still between my legs. It was the worst moment of my life,” she says, her voice breaking. “That was my first child. And now he’s gone.”
When her sister arrived, she called for help, but was told nurses were handing over to the night shift.
“My sister sat there with the baby between her legs until 9 pm,” her sister says. “We lost our parents years ago. It’s just the two of us. Watching her go through that was like a nightmare.”
Department of Health investigating
KwaZulu‑Natal Department of Health MEC spokesperson Nathi Olifant says the department will investigate.
“As a matter of principle, we do not discuss clinical management of individual patients with third parties due to privacy considerations. However, it is deeply concerning to hear such reports. Compassion and care should be the minimum standard. We will work with the hospital to understand what happened and ensure accountability where necessary.”
“A woman should never have to sit with her dead baby between her legs for hours. That is beyond neglect—it is inhumane.”
