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A teacher and her husband have sued a private hospital, claiming that she was permanently sterilised without her consent
The couple claim doctors carried out bilateral tubal ligation, a permanent form of family planning, as she was delivering.
This is the second time the couple and the Nairobi Women’s Hospital are facing off in court. In November 18, 2021, Justice Hedwig Ong’udi ordered the hospital to pay the woman Sh1 million and the costs of the case for violating her right to information.
In the fresh case filed before High Court judge Bahati Mwamuye, the woman says she attended the hospital for an emergency Caesarian section operation on May 16, 2018.
The woman delivered the following day. Unfortunately, the baby died seven days later after developing breathing problems.
After few months, according to the suit papers, her periods resumed but she tried to conceive without success.
“This made us worry about any underlying condition or factor inhibiting the conception. On July 30, 2018, we decided to visit Nairobi Women’s Hospital, Hurlingham branch to determine the issue. They undertook a hyterosalpingogram (HSG) test which revealed features suggestive of bilateral salpingitis,” says the woman in her case filed by lawyer Nyokabi Njogu.
Psychological trauma
The mother of two further states that she sought a second opinion on August 10, 2018 in which she was informed that scans showed that she had been permanently sterilised.
“This confirmed the results and shocked me as I was not aware of the procedure, nor had I consented to it. I knew nothing about the family planning method, and it has taken me a long time to come to terms with my new reality,” she says.
She narrates that knowing that doctors had permanently closed her chances to give birth again had caused her anguish and had brought strife in her marriage.
“This psychological trauma is not something I would like to share with the world as it would open me up to discrimination, stigma and unwarranted inquiry,” she says while urging the court to redact her name and that of her husband.
The husband, on the other hand, says he has two children with the wife. He narrates that on the date he was discharging his wife, on May 21, 2018, he was asked to pay Sh9,000 for a birth control.
However, the method was not specified. “This was shocking information since the first petitioner (CN) and I had not discussed any form of family planning prior to her giving birth. Neither was the first petitioner, nor I taken through counselling on the family planning method nor asked for informed consent,” he claims.
According to the man, the amount he was asked to pay did not include the maternity package.
“I paid because I needed to get the first petitioner discharged as she was not in a stable condition,” he says, adding that upon a second opinion, they learnt that the doctors had permanently sterilised her.
The court papers say that the woman has been attending pre-natal clinics at the same facility.
“Clients must give informed and voluntary consent before female surgical sterlilisation. Clients must give informed consent, which can only be done after being fully informed about its permanent nature and the availability of alternative, effective options,” argues Nyokabi.
The woman conceived in December 2017 and was pregnant in 2018. According to the suit, everything was fine until May 4, 2018, when an ultrasound showed that she had excess amniotic fluid.
The court has been told that on May 11, 2018, at 31 weeks gestation, the woman started experiencing swelling of her face, hands and legs, and she went to the hospital’s Adams Arcade branch where she was admitted. She was told that her blood pressure was high.
“The first petitioner was discharged on may 14, 2018 despite her blood pressure still being unstable. The medical doctor, Dr Kigocho informed her that she could not stay in the hospital for high blood pressure and advised her to go home so as not to deplete her maternity package. She was not given any medication for the pressure. They were given a discharge summary dated May 14, 2018,” says the lawyer
Five days later, she developed breathing problems and was rushed to hospital, where she was told that the infant was at risk of death and were advised that a CS should be done. Nevertheless, Nyokabi says the nursery at the Uhai Hospital was packed and we were advised to go to Pumwani Hospital.
However, the couple chose to go to the private hospital where the woman had been attending prenatal clinics.
Baby dies
It is upon delivery that things went south. The newborn was first taken to a nursery for monitoring as she had developed breathing problems. She then was placed in an incubator.
Nyokabi says that the father had requested that they get a referral to Kenyatta National Hospital to have the minor treated in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), as the cost at the hospital they were was Sh80,000 an hour, but they did not succeed.
“The hospital did not give the first petitioner any information about the health of the baby until much later in the evening at around 7.00pm when they allowed the first and second petitioner to see the baby...,” the lawyer says.
A nurse informed her of the death of the baby and advised that she should be discharged.
The couple went back to the hospital upon learning what had happened. According to them, the doctor in charge informed them that the procedure was done because the woman had consented.
Nevertheless, the consent form could not allegedly be traced. “ The doctor then explained what the procedure was and that while it could be reversed, it would be extremely difficult and the chances of success are minimal,”she says.
The lawyer claims after a follow-up, her clients were informed that the medical records could not be found. It’s at this point that they moved to court seeking to force the hospital to give them information.
In the case before Justice Mwamuye, the couple want the court to find that the facility violated her right to health and compensate her for the pain and anguish caused.
He directed that the hospital should respond by January 17 for the case will be mentioned March 13.
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