.

This must surely be the work of a quack and not a doctor. Every trained doctor whose a medical officer knows at least 3 different techniques to manage shoulder dystocia which was probably the case here. but a quack would choose to amputate. a doctor would have also checked for fetal heart sounds and a USS scan to confirm diagnosis before attempting anything.

This generalization of Nigerian doctors are bad needs to stop, ask yourself why not only doctors but people in other professions perform well outside this country.
Enough said.

I had a personal experience like this during my NYSC in the North. A woman was brought in labor to deliver her 9th baby. She and her husband were very poor. The man was a carpenter and she a petty trader (I think). The baby had hand prolapse meaning that, probably like this baby, the hand came out of the womb instead of the head first. This was Oct. 2005 and they could not afford N30000 for the CS she required. It was against the hospital policy (government) at the time to do free surgeries and despite my pleas, the head of the hospital at the time wouldn't budge. I couldn't at the time afford to pay because it was soon after the banking crisis and my money was mostly frozen. Even my monthly corpers and doctors salary at the time combined was not up to 30k. The woman laboured for 3days, the baby died in the womb and became infected. Subsequently, the mother developed a high fever and died. I have never seen a man cry so hard for anything before. It was just so heartbreaking and I honestly could not sleep for a full week after that.

The reason I am telling this story is because of the people rushing to judge the doctor for his 'quackery'. In medicine, we are taught that one mother's live is worth 20 unborn so the emphasis needs to be placed on saving her life first because of the other children she already has or might bear or even just care for in future. In a rural setting, if the baby was wrongly positioned and not moving, it might have been near impossible to hear a heartbeat. There are even cases of babies who have lost all heartbeat only to wake up several hours later in the morgue. Why not send for a scan, you say? Those are not readily available in rural setups and even if they are expensive to the common man and there may be a lengthy queue for the service which is time a woman in labor may not have.

Also, our people present late. They may even register for antenatal but for fear of the cost and stigma attached to a CS, they prefer to go to local midwives and religious homes where they will first exhaust all their money and the real quacks will complicate the situation before sending them to the hospital when it is too late. The reason these people seem successful is that without any intervention, 85% of deliveries will have on their own. It is only qualified people who can identify the 15% and try to prevent it.

Poverty might have had a part to play here too. Maybe they couldn't afford a CS. Do it on credit, you say? How many can you do without folding up your practice? It is common for people to come, beg the doctor to save life, promise to pay later then after the procedure, you are told there is no money. When the doctor decides to be merciful and let them go, a few days later, they will then throw a lavish naming ceremony as is customary.

The healthcare challenges in Nigeria are enormous but the few doctors who still practice here are really struggling to help with little or no infrastructure while the people don't help themselves. I cannot fault the doctor in this scenario at all because his action might actually be the only reason both mother and baby are still alive. It is sad the child lost an arm but it could have been much worse.

Painful

Emary:
I had a personal experience like this during my NYSC in the North. A woman was brought in labor to deliver her 9th baby. She and her husband were very poor. The man was a carpenter and she a petty trader (I think). The baby had hand prolapse meaning that, probably like this baby, the hand came out of the womb instead of the head first. This was Oct. 2005 and they could not afford N30000 for the CS she required. It was against the hospital policy (government) at the time to do free surgeries and despite my pleas, the head of the hospital at the time wouldn't budge. I couldn't at the time afford to pay because it was soon after the banking crisis and my money was mostly frozen. Even my monthly corpers and doctors salary at the time combined was not up to 30k. The woman laboured for 3days, the baby died in the womb and became infected. Subsequently, the mother developed a high fever and died. I have never seen a man cry so hard for anything before. It was just so heartbreaking and I honestly could not sleep for a full week after that.

The reason I am telling this story is because of the people rushing to judge the doctor for his 'quackery'. In medicine, we are taught that one mother's live is worth 20 unborn so the emphasis needs to be placed on saving her life first because of the other children she already has or might bear or even just care for in future. In a rural setting, if the baby was wrongly positioned and not moving, it might have been near impossible to hear a heartbeat. There are even cases of babies who have lost all heartbeat only to wake up several hours later in the morgue. Why not send for a scan, you say? Those are not readily available in rural setups and even if they are expensive to the common man and there may be a lengthy queue for the service which is time a woman in labor may not have.

Also, our people present late. They may even register for antenatal but for fear of the cost and stigma attached to a CS, they prefer to go to local midwives and religious homes where they will first exhaust all their money and the real quacks will complicate the situation before sending them to the hospital when it is too late. The reason these people seem successful is that without any intervention, 85% of deliveries will have on their own. It is only qualified people who can identify the 15% and try to prevent it.

Poverty might have had a part to play here too. Maybe they couldn't afford a CS. Do it on credit, you say? How many can you do without folding up your practice? It is common for people to come, beg the doctor to save life, promise to pay later then after the procedure, you are told there is no money. When the doctor decides to be merciful and let them go, a few days later, they will then throw a lavish naming ceremony as is customary.

The healthcare challenges in Nigeria are enormous but the few doctors who still practice here are really struggling to help with little or no infrastructure while the people don't help themselves. I cannot fault the doctor in this scenario at all because his action might actually be the only reason both mother and baby are still alive. It is sad the child lost an arm but it could have been much worse.

thumbs up dear. They will still insult you. But the truth is that they usually don't read lengthy comments

Before u crucify the doctor, have u tot this could be a lie? Why would a hand be amputated in the womb to save the mothers life? If the mother was in distress, she would undergo C- Section whether the baby is alive or dead. There is what we call destructive surgery, this is done in a case of confirmed intra uterine fetal death by a specialist, but it is no longer popular because of complications which may arise. The macerated (decaying) baby is destroyed in the womb and brought out piece by piece, not just one limb removed. The explanation to this is a case of prolonged obstructed labor due to transverse lie in which the baby presented with the hand, and probably an inexperienced TBA was pulling the hand which was already weak, which made it amputate before the mother was scheduled for a C-section

Is he for real? What is the use of an ultrasound? Is he truly a doctor?

u sure no be fake doctor?

Quacks

drmuri:
so sad, in case of intrauterine fetal death, confirmed by ultrasonography, the baby is induced and usually delivered whole. this case is so unfortunate.

The story is not complete. Was the
amputation done before the delivery or after the delivery? If after, didn't the doctor confirm if the baby is alive before the amputation? If not, then can amputation be done while baby is still inside the womb?

doctorfemi20:
Before u crucify the doctor, have u tot this could be a lie? Why would a hand be amputated in the womb to save the mothers life? If the mother was in distress, she would undergo C- Section whether the baby is alive or dead. There is what we call destructive surgery, this is done in a case of confirmed intra uterine fetal death by a specialist, but it is no longer popular because of complications which may arise. The macerated (decaying) baby is destroyed in the womb and brought out piece by piece, not just one limb removed. The explanation to this is a case of prolonged obstructed labor due to transverse lie in which the baby presented with the hand, and probably an inexperienced TBA was pulling the hand which was already weak, which made it amputate before the mother was scheduled for a C-section

Your explanation seems more factual than what the op said. I tend to agree with you.

Can not be true!

Naija So they now kept it in a black nylon like 50 naira akara

Well, doctors are not gods. In such situations, they act with assumption since they don't have all the time in the world to take decisions. Poor little kid.

Emary:
I had a personal experience like this during my NYSC in the North. A woman was brought in labor to deliver her 9th baby. She and her husband were very poor. The man was a carpenter and she a petty trader (I think). The baby had hand prolapse meaning that, probably like this baby, the hand came out of the womb instead of the head first. This was Oct. 2005 and they could not afford N30000 for the CS she required. It was against the hospital policy (government) at the time to do free surgeries and despite my pleas, the head of the hospital at the time wouldn't budge. I couldn't at the time afford to pay because it was soon after the banking crisis and my money was mostly frozen. Even my monthly corpers and doctors salary at the time combined was not up to 30k. The woman laboured for 3days, the baby died in the womb and became infected. Subsequently, the mother developed a high fever and died. I have never seen a man cry so hard for anything before. It was just so heartbreaking and I honestly could not sleep for a full week after that.

The reason I am telling this story is because of the people rushing to judge the doctor for his 'quackery'. In medicine, we are taught that one mother's live is worth 20 unborn so the emphasis needs to be placed on saving her life first because of the other children she already has or might bear or even just care for in future. In a rural setting, if the baby was wrongly positioned and not moving, it might have been near impossible to hear a heartbeat. There are even cases of babies who have lost all heartbeat only to wake up several hours later in the morgue. Why not send for a scan, you say? Those are not readily available in rural setups and even if they are expensive to the common man and there may be a lengthy queue for the service which is time a woman in labor may not have.

Also, our people present late. They may even register for antenatal but for fear of the cost and stigma attached to a CS, they prefer to go to local midwives and religious homes where they will first exhaust all their money and the real quacks will complicate the situation before sending them to the hospital when it is too late. The reason these people seem successful is that without any intervention, 85% of deliveries will have on their own. It is only qualified people who can identify the 15% and try to prevent it.

Poverty might have had a part to play here too. Maybe they couldn't afford a CS. Do it on credit, you say? How many can you do without folding up your practice? It is common for people to come, beg the doctor to save life, promise to pay later then after the procedure, you are told there is no money. When the doctor decides to be merciful and let them go, a few days later, they will then throw a lavish naming ceremony as is customary.

The healthcare challenges in Nigeria are enormous but the few doctors who still practice here are really struggling to help with little or no infrastructure while the people don't help themselves. I cannot fault the doctor in this scenario at all because his action might actually be the only reason both mother and baby are still alive. It is sad the child lost an arm but it could have been much worse.

Well this is a nice post. I served in the town so I didn't get to experience such situations. It's annoying how healthcare is very limited and frustrating in this country. Besides I think the story is actually fake sha

Gush!!! This is so sympathetic...

Pls medical doctors in d house
Say us opinion...
Is d doc action justified?
If a baby is too big, what happened to epiciotomy or CS? Whether d baby is dead or alive.

What would dey tell this little cuitie when he grows up.
Chineke

This story get k leg