By Mandy Thompson

A 33-year-old teacher who succumbed on her way to the Georgetown Public Hospital after being transferred from the New Amsterdam Hospital yesterday morning is the country’s latest maternal death.

Kaimattie Sooknanan of Number 68 Village, Corentyne, Berbice, died on her way to the Georgetown hospital after she delivered a baby boy by caesarean section at the New Amsterdam Hospital on Friday. Her baby boy is healthy but remains at the Georgetown Hospital.  Mrs Sooknanan was declared as being in a stable condition by doctors at New Amsterdam after the delivery.

Kaimattie Sooknanan

The woman was over eight months pregnant and was expected to give birth soon her husband, Raj Sooknanan, said. He was still in shock at his wife’s death and said he had to see her first to believe.

Kaimattie Sooknanan was rushed to the Skeldon Hospital by her husband on Friday after she called him and informed him that she was experiencing labour pain. Doctors at that hospital transferred her to New Amsterdam, where she was taken into surgery and had her baby by c-section.

Her husband said no one at New Amsterdam Hospital informed him that his wife was being transferred to Georgetown, neither did they state what her condition was.

Mrs Sooknanan was a teacher at the Number 56 Primary School and was giving birth to her second child.

Her husband could not hide his grief as he spoke with this newspaper. He said that he was not at home and his wife telephoned him around midday on Friday and told him she was experiencing pain. He said he rushed home and took her to the Skeldon Hospital, where doctors told him that they could not deal with the situation and that she has to be transferred to New Amsterdam.

Sooknanan said his wife was then placed in an ambulance and taken to New Amsterdam where doctors rushed her into surgery and delivered the baby on Friday afternoon. After surgery the doctor informed him that his wife and child were doing fine.

He also stated that his wife never had any complications during the pregnancy and this was her second child that was being delivered by c-section.

On Friday afternoon, Sooknanan abd his mother-in-law left her at the hospital and returned home. At around 9 am yesterday, Sooknanan said, he received a telephone call from his wife’s brother who told him that his wife had died while she was being transferred to the Georgetown Hospital.

He said in tears, “Me left me wife and pickney ah New Amsterdam and now me hear she dead. Nobody neva call me and tell me that dem a transfer me wife. Up to now me nah believe she dead. Me gah go see she… before me believe.” He said if doctors had informed him that anything was wrong with his wife, he would have stayed with her at the hospital.

Up to press time officials from the hospital had not made contact with the family.

Mrs Sooknanan’s death is now a painful shock to the family, her husband said while adding that the doctors at the institution are terrible and that they caused the death of his wife.

Kaimattie leaves to mourn her husband and seven-year-old daughter, Ugeeta, along with her mother, father and siblings.

A number of maternity deaths have occurred this year, the most recent being that of 21-year-old, Tushana Cameron, of Lot 111 Bagotville, who died after giving birth to her first child at the West Demerara Regional Hospital (WDRH).

For the year, there have been ten maternal deaths and 41 stillbirths. The Health Ministry was criticised in 2010 when there was a staggering 25 maternal deaths. This prompted the then government and ministry to implement measures as a means of bringing the numbers down. In 2011 it decreased as 14 maternal deaths were reported. The relatively high incidence of the maternity-related deaths over the past three years has raised concerns about the quality of health care in the various institutions.

Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Shamdeo Persaud had told this newspaper during an interview earlier this year that the  findings on some of the maternal deaths indicated that there was laxity on the part of doctors as patients were not managed according to protocol.

A report this year stated that the WDRH is the only public facility providing basic Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (EmONC) and recommended the upgrade of government-run hospitals performing deliveries in order to boost maternal and newborn care. It noted that according to internationally-accepted standards, Guyana does not have an adequate number of EmONC facilities, and that owing to logistics access to appropriate levels of care can be difficult.