Online Reporter
Andile Tshuma, [email protected]
THE cry of a newborn baby now fills a home in Ntshamathe village in Sigola — a sound that brings both joy and sorrow. The baby boy will grow up without ever knowing his mother, a woman family and friends describe as loving, hardworking and devoted to her children.
Thirty-nine-year-old Simiso Cynthia Ncube went to Mpilo Central Hospital in May expecting to give birth and return home safely with her child. Instead, just weeks later, her family was preparing to bury her.
Cynthia died at Mpilo Central Hospital last Tuesday after developing complications following a Caesarean section carried out on May 25. She had been admitted to the hospital a day earlier, on May 24.
Her death has left her family searching for answers. It has also left behind a grieving husband, two children without their mother, and a newborn who will only know her through stories and photographs.
At her funeral wake last Thursday, emotions ran high. Family members, neighbours, friends and colleagues from Tanya’s Hair Salon, where she worked, gathered to say their final goodbyes.
Many described her as the centre of her family. As hymns were sung and words of comfort shared, one question kept coming up — what really happened after she gave birth?
Her husband, Givemore Chikura, said they had gone to hospital expecting a normal delivery and a joyful return home.
“We took her to hospital expecting to come back with a baby and celebrate. She was healthy. We had no reason to think anything would go wrong. She underwent a C-section and gave birth on May 25, but even after that, she was jovial and perfectly fine. Then she started complaining of severe pain inside on her wound area, something that even strong painkillers would not relieve,” he said.
“Liquid started coming out of the wound. We returned to the hospital on May 27 and were given medication for an infection,” he added.
According to the family, her condition did not improve after that visit. Instead, they say it worsened over the following days.
Chikura said each return to the hospital brought new prescriptions, but little explanation.
“Every time we went back, there seemed to be another medication to buy. But nobody was really explaining to us what was happening,” he said.
At one point, the family says a doctor suggested that the complications could be linked to a previous operation.
However, this explanation raised concerns among relatives. Cynthia’s brother, Xolani Ncube, said her first child was delivered naturally.
“When we heard that explanation, we were shocked. Her first child was not delivered through an operation,” Ncube said.
As her condition deteriorated, family members who visited her in hospital said it became increasingly difficult to watch.
They said she repeatedly cried out in pain and that her surgical wound continued to leak fluids. In some instances, her bedding had to be changed frequently because it was soaked.
The situation, according to the family, became more alarming when they noticed what they believed to be faecal matter coming from the wound.
“Because human waste was coming out from the C-section wound, we suspect that they cut her intestines and stitched them together with the uterus, because even when they went for the scan and X-rays, they did not update us on the findings,” he said.
The family says Cynthia later underwent another operation. They allege that her wound was left open for two days before it was stitched again, without a clear explanation being given.
They could only watch as her condition continued to worsen.
“We watched her getting weaker and weaker. There was nothing we could do,” said one relative.
Last Monday, family members say she became disoriented. By Tuesday, medical staff were attempting to resuscitate her, but the efforts were unsuccessful. She was pronounced dead.
For those who knew her, the loss is difficult to accept.
Friends and colleagues remember Cynthia as a warm and vibrant woman who made a living helping others look and feel their best. As a hairdresser at Tanya’s Hair Salon, she built close relationships with both clients and co-workers.
Many attended her funeral, some carrying flowers, others carrying memories.
“She was always smiling. It is difficult to accept that she is gone,” said one colleague.
Contacted for comment, Mpilo Central Hospital clinical director Professor Solwayo Ngwenya confirmed the death and extended condolences to the family. He said investigations are ongoing.
“It is unfortunate that we lost a patient from pregnancy-related complications. We send our condolences to the family. We are carrying out investigations at the moment, but preliminary checks appear to indicate that the staff tried their best to deal with the recognised complications that can arise from any surgical procedure,” said Professor Ngwenya.
While the hospital says investigations are underway, the family says they are still searching for answers.
They maintain that they are not looking for conflict, but for clarity — to understand how a woman who went to hospital to give birth did not return home alive.
