Pregnant 10-year-old Ndola Girl to Deliver Through Caesarian Section

THE mother of the 10-year-old pregnant girl of Kaloko compound in Ndola says doctors have advised that her daughter delivers her child through Caesarian section.
In an interview after she took her daughter to Ndola Central Hospital, the mother of the girl said the pregnancy had reached an advanced stage.
She said she took her daughter to the hospital on Thursday and a scan showed that the baby was fine.
“The scan shows that the baby’s head is facing downwards, meaning that her pregnancy is advanced. The doctor told me that the girl cannot deliver normally because she might be damaged, so she will have to deliver through a Caesarean section,” she said.
Hospital authorities refused to comment on the matter and instead referred all queries to the family.
The girl was impregnated by someone she does not know but whom she says she can recognise.
Meanwhile, Lusaka obstetrician and gynaecologist Dr Mutinta Muyuni says the pregnancy of the 10-year-old girl should open society to realities around early contraceptives and safe abortions.
In an interview, Dr Muyuni said whereas there was a lot done to oppose safe abortion, very little was done to offer social support to unwanted babies who ended up dumped in toilets or discarded in inhumane ways.
“My challenge to those opposing safe abortions and access to contraceptives is to stop being armchair critics,” Dr Muyuni said. “Roll up your sleeves and do your part for Zambian women and children. Help children like this 10-year-old from Ndola have access to school, psychological therapy, support for her family and newborn. Otherwise the more we stigmatise and isolate these girls, the more unsafe abortions and latrine babies will be seen.”
Dr Muyuni explained that Zambia had many minors falling pregnant through defilement.
According to the Zambia Central Statistics figures 2009, three out of 10 girls had experienced child bearing by the age of 19.
She said there was need for a practical approach on prevention of early pregnancies through contraception, access to safe abortion as well as options for women with advanced unplanned pregnancies to give up their children for adoption.
“The 10-year old had no idea like many young girls that she was pregnant,” she said. “What is happening with sex education in schools and contraception for those who are sexually active? This is sadly interpreted as encouraging the young to continue having sex, but quite the contrary, it may prevent sexually transmitted infection, unplanned pregnancy and even reduce high risk pregnancy in underage girls. But even so, sex education has to start from the family. I note also that information concerning available options for unplanned pregnancy is scanty and a thing of whispering behind closed doors. The onus of raising a child is as per our culture strictly not for one family unit
but for the community at large.”
Dr Muyuni observed that there was huge gap between the country’s social welfare services and provision of reproductive health services.
“It is through these comprehensive abortion care services and indeed other reproductive health services that women can receive information on options and those with advanced pregnancies can be guided on where they can safely deliver and give up their babies, as opposed to just rebuking them and later having to fish babies out of latrines,” she said.
She regretted that there were a lot of debates on what was wrong or right when for centuries no answer had come forth.
“It is easy to talk if you have never lost someone to a preventable tragedy such as death from unsafe abortion, or if you have never had to wash faeces off the body of a dumped baby fished out of a latrine and had to pick the maggots from its ears and nose and wished the baby’s mother had access to information on access to options,” said Dr
Muyuni. “We have seen that apart from harsh criticism of those who provide contraception and safe abortion services, armchair critics help no further to safeguard this unprepared mother and her baby. And I hope through social welfare and cooperating partners this will not be the end of the Ndola girl’s education and future, and that her mother will be encouraged to be strong and stand by her daughter through this.”