Please read the True Story of a parent's pain and a child's struggle as a result of birth injury in "Birth Asphyxia: One Doctor’s Negligence, A Parents’ Lifelong Pain." Baby Nicole could have been anyone's baby just as we can all learn from this story too. Raise your voice with them for justice...

Every single day according to UNICEF, Nigeria loses about 2,300 under-five years old with many more numbers suffering permanent damage as a result of birth injuries. In November 2012, Nigeria was rated the worst place to give birth. Daily, the damning reality of our position continues to stare us in the face.

On Friday, January 25 2013, a middle aged man walked into our office seeking to speak with us. Well dressed, well read, calmly spoken, he took us on his personal and agonizing journey on the state of maternal and child health in Nigeria associated with government failures, failed medical system, medical negligence and a resounding quest for justice. These stories are not peculiar to our visitor, Mr. Adesanya, but are the everyday stories and experiences many have learnt to live with.

In challenging a failed system, you not only seek justice for wrong done but also seek change for the future...

June 22, 2011 marked the beginning of a series of spiral events which changed the lives of the Adesanyas forever. Our visitor’s wife, Mrs. Adesanya had diligently attended antenatal at Somolu General Hospital, Lagos-Nigeria, took all nutritional advice and sought skilled help at every opportunity. At the pang of Labour she headed for Somolu General Hospital where she had pre-registered marking the commencement of labour day one.

LABOUR DAY ONE: On examination of Mrs. Adesanya, the nurses on duty observed a complication and advised that a Cesarean section (CS) be performed on her immediately. This was not considered a major issue as her earlier baby had being delivered via CS at the same hospital. There was however one big snag; No doctor was available to perform the operation that afternoon at the hospital.
Realising the nature of the emergency they had on their hands, the nurses promptly referred Mrs. Adesanya to the Island maternity hospital, Lagos, that same day for an emergency CS. On arrival at the hospital they were met with Dr. Damilola Adeyemo who became immediately furious that a pregnant woman was being referred as she considered it an additional work. She first insisted that no bed space was available forcing the pregnant woman to lurk around the hospital environment until eventually, after much pleading; a bed space emerged for her. Probably still angry at the referral, the doctor insisted on not performing the surgery that day and the pregnant woman was consequently sedated.

LABOUR DAY TWO: A bright Thursday started with fresh hopes. Our visitor, Mr. Adesanya narrated that he arrived the hospital to find his wife connected to an oxygen machine. A nurse on duty had also brought to Mr. Adesanya’s knowledge the fact that the baby was no longer breathing well. Alarmed, he rushed to the doctor he had met the night before at Island Maternity hospital and enquired after when the ‘emergency’ CS will be done as it was becoming obvious his wife was getting weaker and the baby was getting distressed. With obvious disinterest, He was informed that it will be impossible to have the emergency surgery done that day as Island Maternity Hospital do not perform surgeries on Thursdays. Visibly confused and shaken, he informed us that just as he resolved to move his wife to another hospital where the life of the mother and child will be saved, he received a call from Somolu general hospital requesting that he brings his wife for surgery if she is yet to be operated upon. He informed the doctor of his resolve and she gladly released the patient who was clearly weak due to the distress. Back at Somolu General Hospital, upon further examination by the doctor, he was informed his wife had just been fed with food and it will be impossible to perform the surgery that evening. Distraught, he had no choice than to wait till the next day.

LABOUR DAY 3: The operation was finally performed, the life of the baby as well as the mother was saved but with a price...
Armed with series of medical reports, our visitor carefully explains the present medical state of Nicole following her one year 7months on earth:

MRI-BRAIN report conducted by Dr.Subhash Vijayvargiya(Consultant Radiologist) at BT Health &Diagnostics Center Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, (Lasuth) Lagos, Nigeria reveals the following results:
“IMPRESSION: NCMR evaluation of brain reveals, bilateral occipito-parietal(L>R)cortical and subcortical and bifrontal cortical atrophy with ulgyric cortical in the parieto-occipital region. Findings are consistent with THE(Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy)sequence with parasagittal insult.”

Beneath these medical terms lies the reality of life for Baby Nicole who suffers from a condition known as cerebral palsy as a result of a permanent damage and injury to the brain at birth otherwise known as birth asphyxia. The consequences are dire. Developmental monitoring shows that at one year and seven months baby Nicole is unable to sit, stand, hold or grasp object or talk. She is unable to see clearly, hear clearly and also suffers frequently series of seizures.

Birth Asphyxia is the medical condition resulting from deprivation of oxygen to a newborn infant that lasts long enough during the birth process to cause physical harm, usually to the brain. In the more pronounced cases, an infant will survive, but with damage to the brain manifested as either mental, such as developmental delay or intellectual disability, or physical, such as spasticity — in fact, spastic diplegia and the other forms of cerebral palsy almost always feature asphyxiation during the birth process as a major, if not defining, factor. Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of non-progressive, on-contagious motor conditions that cause physical disability in human development, chiefly in the various areas of body movement.

As the child grows, it is becoming increasingly difficult and painful to manage her medical condition without the necessary medical support or professional accountability from those liable. A number of meetings have been set up with the Lagos State Health service commission with no fruitful result. The frequency of the seizures continues to increase with its attendant’s financial implications while the erring doctor continues to practice without any investigation or disciplinary step taken against her as informed by Mr. Adesanaya.

With misty eyes, Mr. Adesanya makes a passionate plea for justice for his baby.
“Baby nichole is my baby whose future and right to live a normal life has being altered by the negligence of an angry doctor. She could have your baby, anyone’s baby.... All we ask for is justice. Justice to help our baby make the best of the life she has now. Justice to save future babies from this kind of situation. Justice that will usher in change for good. Please raise your voice with us!”

A lot of cases like Baby Nicole’s happen every day. A lot of parents like Mr. And Mrs. Adesanya suffer in silence and are turned permanent carers for the negligence of one whose value for life is doubtful, but you can lend a voice. You can speak until those in authority hear, you can scream until clinical negligence is not tolerated in our medical system, until justice is done. Kindly raise your voice with them.

Thank you.

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Awww, what a touching story . And I used to think island maternity was one of the best hospitals to give birth to in this country. That useless doctor should be ripped of her license and the hospital should be sued. The Shomolu gh is another story entirely. How can a whole hospital not have a single doctor on ground to perform an emergency surgery? Has things really gotten this bad in our health sector? People need to start speaking out and suing these death centres for negligence and reckless endangerment of lives. This story makes me sick to my stomach

Midwives are being trained to do CS by british doctors in mozambique, i think they should extend these to Nigeria. Because we really need help.

What is the financial status of Mr Adesanya. I mean why has he not suedd the doctor. Nigerians should learn this quickly. When a doctor knows that such non chalance can result to loss of license things will be taken more seriously

hmmm