According to a press release shared on Sunday, the government, through the Ministry of Health, confirmed that they are thoroughly investigating the matter. The ministry also expressed that they have reached out to the patient and will be meeting with her in the coming week. “Though investigations are ongoing, the ministry regrets this unfortunate incident. Good customer service should always be at the core of the ministry’s interactions with all its patients,” the press statement reads. The ministry emphasised that if the allegations against the midwife are substantiated, appropriate action will be taken.
Background of the matter A TikTok user (names withheld) bravely shared her ordeal with her followers. She recounted that she gave birth in mid-May to her son at Princess Marina Hospital. In the video, she explains that her original plan was to give birth at Bamalete Lutheran Hospital in Ramotswa, but because she went into labour earlier than expected, she had to use the nearest facility. The young mother described how she was admitted immediately. As a first-time mother, she was naturally expressing her pain, albeit not loudly. “Out of the blue, the midwife assigned to me came and said I was misbehaving,” she recounted, her voice tinged with disbelief and hurt. Confused, she responded to the midwife, “Sorry?”
