- A newborn baby has been detained by a Lagos hospital over an unpaid medical bill of N650,000
- The hospital denied the parents Michael and Roseline Oaikhena, custody of their baby for 3 months
- The Lagos hospital holding on to the child, allegedly vowed to put the baby in an orphanage unless the debt was paid
Michael and Roseline Oaikhena, for three months have been denied the custody of their newborn baby, Ighodalo, over an unpaid medical bill of N650,000 in Lagos, The Punch reports.
NAIJ.com gathered that the hospital holding on to the child, in Ogba, Ikeja, Lagos, had allegedly vowed to put him in an orphanage unless the debt was cleared.
Roseline, a private primary school teacher, had given birth to a set of twins on February 10, 2018, at the Ifako General Hospital, Lagos, who were premature.
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The babies were reportedly taken to another hospoital, where they were put in an incubator at the rate of N300,000 per week.
The female child reportedly died, after one week while the surviving boy continued treatment at the intensive care unit of the facility at the rate of N150,000 per week.
The father of the child Michael, a driver, said: “My wife and I have been married for about two years. When she conceived, she went through a lot of stress due to the nature of her job and at a point, a doctor advised her to go for bed rest.
“She gave birth at the Ifako General Hospital when the pregnancy was about six months. We were unable to get an incubator at the hospital and our search for one in Lagos public hospitals p monthroved abortive.
“She gave birth around 1pm and when we could not find any public hospital with an incubator, we settled for Inton Hospital. We got there around 11pm; their bill was N300,000 per week.
“However, after a week, we lost the female baby and we started paying N150,000 per week. The surviving baby has now been moved from the incubator to a nursery, where he has been for over three months.”
Micheal further explained that the mother had been visiting the hospital to give the newborn baby food, adding that the child was being held over the N650,000 medical bill that the family owed.
“The doctor said since we had not met up with our financial obligations, they might not be able to keep the baby any longer and will take him to a motherless babies’ home. He said the baby had a high risk of contracting an infection because he is in a place where they treat sick children,” he added.
Roseline, expressed sadness that her baby could be taken to an orphanage while she was alive.
The 28-year-old said: “I was going to see him at the hospital every day before I stopped because of transport cost. I go twice a week now.
“The hospital said the next step is to take him to a motherless babies’ home because we don’t have money.
“We have tried to raise money to no avail. We were able to raise N550,000 from friends and relatives, including the N170,000 we got on a social media platform. We still need to pay N650,000.”
A doctor at the hospital, Dr. Badejo Christopher, said the medical bill was high due to the specialised care required by the baby.
Christopher added that while the baby was still receiving intensive care, Ighodalo was being monitored by a consultant paediatrician.
He said:“The mother went into labour at 27 weeks as against 38/40 weeks. The twins were rushed here, but we could not save one of them. The boy has been inside an incubator and taking drug.
“An average birth weight is 2.5kg, but the baby’s weight at presentation was 1.0kg. The challenges of managing preterm children are many. The drug we use are very expensive because the children are susceptible to sepsis (infection).
“One of the antibiotics is as expensive as N16,000. We charge N150,000 per week.”
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Akeem Mustapha, the Chief Medical Director on Tuesday, May 29, however, denied that the hospital planned to take the child to an orphanage, saying the couple wanted to draw public sympathy.
In a previous report by NAIJ.com, the Lagos state police command paraded a 50-year-old midwife, Regina Ibeato, and two others for allegedly selling a week-old baby for the sum of N250,000.
The Nation reports that Ibeato, who was arrested on May 23, was paraded alongside the buyer, Udoju Chukwunoye, 45, and the middleman, Joy James.
Police Commissioner Imohimi Edgal said Ibeto usually induced expected mothers and once they are delivered of their babies, she sold them off.
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Source: Naija.ng