Mandatory caesarean operations bring worry to expecting mothers

Staff reporter

Pauline Mutape (name withheld) is a pregnant single mother with two little boys who are aged 4 and 7 years. They both stay in Sakubva with their mother.

Pauline wakes every morning and goes to the market stall to sell her wares, it is a routine she is getting used to but life has been getting complicated for her lately.

She is struggling with depression mostly caused by the fear of being “referred to a Caesar surgery.”  Her friend Sandra Wasu allegedly lost her infant to a ‘forced’ caesarean operation at the Sakubva Eye clinic.

She had  delivered two little girls at Sakubva hospital through normal births a few years earlier, but now the Sakubva hospital staff are in the habit of referring almost any pregnant woman who registered with them to go under the knife.

Pauline went to console Sandra alone as it is taboo in their culture to mourn the loss of an infant child. The  Zimbabwe Sentinel’s Mutare correspondent Julian Mwatipa met up with Pauline a to hear her thoughts. “They have already told me that I have to prepare for a Caesarean operation, but I never have any complications in childbirth. They just do this corruptly to steal our money,” said a visibly worried Pauline.

Our Mutare correspondent managed to interview several women who were all referred to caesarean operations by staff at Sakubva Hospital. They came from different areas such as Zimunya, Florida, Mutare City, Chikanga and Dangamvura. Our correspondent also spoke to Rhoda Matida (name changed) who confirmed the story.

“What troubles me is that nurses and Doctors at Sakubva Hospital seem a little too eager to refer people to Sakubva eye clinic. They never waste time to make the referrals. I know many women who are referred to Sakubva Eye clinic, some of them actually delivered well but others lost their children,” she said.

The Zimbabwe Sentinel uncovered how the number of women being referred for caesarean surgeries is increasing with time.

A survey was carried out by Trop George Medical Institute (2024) in a maternity hospital in Gweru, Zimbabwe to analyse how previous exposure to caesarean operation was affecting their perception of the procedure. The behaviour of 210 pregnant women who had a previous experience with caesarean operations was compared with that of a control group of 278 women with no history of birth through Caesar.

More frequently, the women with previous exposure to Caesar failed to attend antenatal clinic and came to the maternity hospital in an advanced stage of labour. The majority of them did not wish to have a further Caesarean and did not know they were at high risk of complication. These observations have important implications for medical training and public health policy planning in African countries.

When contacted for comment, the Director of Public Relations in the Ministry of Health and Child Care Mr Donald Mujiri expressed concern in the matter and promised to investigate it further. “I think it is an isolated incident but we will definitely look into it,” he said.