'Can you resuscitate my baby?' begs woman who lost unborn baby after wait at NUH's A&E

After waiting at National University Hospital's (NUH) A&E unit for allegedly over two hours, the then-pregnant woman was wheeled into the maternity ward only to be told what no pregnant woman wants to hear. 

"Your baby's heart has stopped beating," said a doctor who had performed an ultrasound on her, recounted the 37-year-old woman during an interview with 8world on Tuesday (March 22).

The woman's heart sank, albeit still hopeful when the doctor decided to perform a few more scans on her. 

"I was still bleeding at that time," recalled the woman who declined to be named. "[The doctor] did a few more scans and he said that while the baby's heart is still intact, it had stopped beating. He then said to me 'I'm sorry but your baby has died'."

Still in shock, the woman pleaded with the doctor: "Can you resuscitate my baby?"

The doctor told her they couldn't. 

A week after the ordeal, the woman has come forward to share her story, recounting how she had to be accompanied by a friend to NUH as her husband had contracted Covid-19 and had to look after their two children. 

Unfortunately, she had to go into the A&E alone as no accompanying adults are allowed except under special circumstances. 

The couple had originally planned to deliver their third child at another hospital and she was due for a check-up on March 11.

However, she was unable to attend the appointment as she had contracted Covid-19. 

At NUH's A&E unit, she remembered the paramedics telling the nurses about her condition when she reached the hospital.

However, nobody came to ask if she was okay, she said.

"I had no strength to ask someone to check on me, because I was in a lot of pain," she added. 

After a gruelling two hours, the staff went to check on her and she recalled one of the nurses asking: "You're still bleeding?" 

A doctor later told her that she had a placental abruption, she said.

According to information from the Mayo Clinic website, a placental abruption occurs when the placenta partly or completely separates from the inner wall of the uterus before delivery.

This could possibly decrease or block the baby's supply of oxygen and cause heavy bleeding in the mother. Untreated cases of placental abruption can endanger the life of both mother and child. 

Doctors then told her that they would have to surgically remove the stillborn from her womb and she was operated on at about 2am, she said.  

"I woke up [from the anaesthesia] at about 5am and found my baby lying on top of me, [by then] he was already pronounced dead," she added. 

She also showed 8world reporters the bruises on her arms that she sustained from the blood transfusions she had to undergo.

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Till today, aside from grieving the loss of their unborn child, the couple are still wondering why there was such a delay at the A&E. They have since reached out to NUH for an answer. 

The couple have decided to share their experience on Facebook and the post went viral, garnering more than 4,500 reactions and shares from netizens. 

"I can understand that birth complications cannot be helped, but our greatest concern now is the emergency unit's operating procedure," said the woman. "We don't understand why someone that is losing so much blood is not getting immediate medical attention, simply because there aren't enough available rooms or staff." 

Her husband added: "If they had attended to her immediately once she reached the hospital, and tried to save the baby, we wouldn't blame anyone if they had failed." 

NUH had earlier said that they are investigating the incident and AsiaOne has reached out to them for further comments. 

claudiatan@asiaone.com