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Couple deliver own baby at Erasmus Hospital

16:22 03/07/2019

A woman gave birth in a hospital room in Anderlecht last month with no medical personnel in the room. According to the woman’s husband, who spoke to La Capitale, he had to help her deliver the baby by himself.

Sarah Laaroussi Laalami was waiting for the results of a blood test at ULB’s Erasmus Hospital to determine if she could receive an epidural. In the meantime, her contractions began coming five minutes apart.

Her husband, Omar Sebbata, called for a nurse, who told them they had to wait for the results of the test. A second request later led to the same answer, with the nurse leaving the room in both instances.

A third call using the electronic button in the room went unanswered. It soon became clear that the  baby was coming, but no one responded to Sebbata’s repeated calls for assistance.

“I  had to deliver the baby myself,” he told La Capitale. “If I hadn’t been there, he would have landed on the ground.”

About 15 minutes after the birth, a nurse came to the room. She apologised and asked Sebbata if he wanted to cut the umbilical cord.

The couple plan to demand compensation from the hospital. “The midwives and the nurses were chatting in the coffee corner when my son was being born,” said Sebbata.

According to the hospital, an epidural cannot be given without the results of the blood test, and that no one expected the baby to come so fast. “We cannot predict everything ahead of time,” a spokesperson told the newspaper.

Photo courtesy Erasmus Hospital

Written by Lisa Bradshaw

Comments

Anon3

Perhaps they should have said they are close friends of the current Belgian King and Queen, whose children were all born there without this sort of negligence/indifference.

Jul 4, 2019 10:53