I lost a friend whom i had known since primary school at one of the "best" hospital in the country while she delivered a baby girl who will be 3 years in June.It was one of the saddest days of my entire life,being a mother too i couldn't believe she wouldn't hold,cuddle or kiss this baby she had carried for 9 months.She bled to death because the doctors could do nothing to save her.

They used to say that whenever a woman goes into labour in this part of the world, a grave opens. Sad that this is still true here. And perharps our lax laws and that code of silence. What’s the worst consequence a medical professional has faced because of negligence? Most people do not bother to take thsese matters further - maybe because of this culture of attributing life and death to God's will. Have heard way too many horror stories about preventable deaths. Giving birth should not be this big a risk.

@Snazzy, please name this hospital that's supposed to be one of the best so that we can be well informed as we make our choices

I am afraid that this probably sounds good but other than affordability,having own doc could also open doors for disaster esp. in hospitals where the consultant gets a share of the money raised from a delivery or an operation/CS.Can you believe that in one of the hospitals- a leading hosp-an intern had to step in to do a CS because a consultant was held up in another hosp........and that was not all,the intern had to wait for the consultant to come and stitch her up ....it was the only way the consultant could bill the said hospital :(

you should name these hospitals and consultants,if nothing, its a step towards curbing this. They should not be protected. Name and shame

Chilling stories there!!!

A few weeks back a lawyer gave birth to 'a bouncing baby boy' at the Nairobi Hospital. Unfortunately she did not survive the delivery. I was later told by a friend of her family that she underwent a C-Section and it was seemingly not done properly as she bled to death.

However, it is hard to blame hospitals for maternal deaths as in most cases the women are admitted by their own doctors. In a place like the Nairobi Hospital and Aga Khan most people I know have been admitted by their own doctors their with the hospitals only providing the facilities and support staff.

My advise to those considering deliveries is to have their own Obstetrician-Gynecologist. Forget about a Gynecologist only. You need an Obstetrician and you can get doctors who are both. When we got our Elderling for example it was way before the EDD and deep in the night so it was hard getting our Obs-Gyn. The hospital (actually the midwives) asked if they could call any other doctor who was available and which they did but fortunately our doc arrived just in time (he later told me that he lives about 2 minutes away from the hospital).

My friend was at Nairobi Hospital.

Though there are great doctors out there,there are some spoiling it for the good ones.My advice for any mother to be is always do a background check on any one you are going to trust with your life.And for any fathers out there, be an active part of the whole process.

The audited number of maternal deaths in Kenya in 2009 were 3,705. That means close to 4,000 pregnant women, carry their child to term (or 28 weeks) and end up dying in the process of giving birth to the child.

It is shocking too to read the figures on the number of fresh still births i.e. the number of children that die during child birth. 7,479! 7,479 women carry their child to term (or 28 weeks), go into a hospital to deliver and they come out empty handed!

In Kenya, only 555,632 out of 1,653,985 deliveries are conducted by a skilled health attendant in a health facility.

Reversing the Trends
The Second National Health Sector Strategic Plan
ANNUAL OPERATIONAL PLAN 5
July 2009–June 2010
The Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation and the Ministry of Medical Services

whatever figure we have, it is too high.

standard newspaper 10/03/2011:
"At least 21 women die daily from child-birth related complications in Kenya."

Seriously? Think about the families left without a mother.