A woman identified as Amarachi Lemchi was dealt a double blow, first suffering the loss of a child and then being detained by the hospital over unpaid bills.
According to the Punch, the woman was rushed to Obioma Hospital and Maternity Centre in Aboh Mbaise, Imo State, after complications arose during childbirth.
She had originally registered to Robert Maternity Centre, in Ezinwe, Isiala Mbano LGA but was referred to another hospital when she started having complications.
She was to give birth to twins but lost one of the babies. Due to her and her husband’s inability to raise the medical fees, the woman is now being detained by hospital management.
She said; “I never planned to have a CS. Everything was fine until on the day of my delivery when I started bleeding. I was pregnant with twins, a boy and a girl. It was the female baby that attempted to come out first. However, the midwife told me that she didn’t come out through the right position. She said the baby was coming out through the buttocks. I tried my best, but the bleeding was excessive and my husband rushed me to Obioma Hospital. The doctor said I could not deliver normally and it would be through a CS. During the delivery, the girl died, but the boy survived.”
Speaking on her detention she said; “We are having financial problems. I don’t have a job and my husband is a commercial motorcycle rider. He struggled to pay N20,000 out of the money, but we are still owing and that is why I have not been able to leave the hospital,”
The owner of the hospital, Dr. Obioma stated that while patients were sometimes released during special programs, there was none such program happening at the moment.
“She was referred from a maternity centre around my hospital. She recovered from all the complications and her bill was N95,600. I think they have paid part and their balance is N75,600. Once in a while, as we may deem fit, we say children below one year should be given free treatment, or pregnant women who delivered in a particular month should not pay. But we are not doing that for now.” he said.