Kathy Nicholas Bougouneau died at the Mount St John’s Medical Centre, on Tuesday, just hours after giving birth to a baby girl, and her family is searching for answers to explain her demise.
Bougouneau, 36, of Dominica, was due to give birth on November 15. Relatives said she went to the hospital on two separate occasions to say she was ready to give birth, only to be told she should return later.
The dead woman’s aunt, Rosabel Baptiste said the expectant mother who was anxiously awaiting the birth of the baby said she did not wish to know the gender until the newborn’s birth.
Boy, look doctors and nurses giving comments. I would like to say that we know not the day nor the hour. There is nothing in the bible which says only old people die. There is anticipated and unanticipated death. It is just an unfortunate event which occurred. Many things could have gone wrong and some may have been preventable but we do not know. In the meantime, let’s not speculate. Just offer your condolences to the family.
we must send our regards to her family and at the same time we say if was my country the first one the people would blame is the PM. giving birth my friends is a life & death thing thank god the baby survive
she give a life for her life god bless the family.
Sadly so, it appears she bled to death. That hospital did not put a proper procedure in place for this situation, what occurred to her. The doctor said they could not stop the blood-flow. This is unbelievable for those who are in the medical profession.
A similar incident happened in Rock City a few years ago. A Dominican woman went to the hospital to give birth and they sent her home twice. She ended up dying during child birth. When a pregnant woman says she’s ready she’s ready. Period.
Because she knows how she feels. What the hospital/doctor should do is to examine her to confirm that she is ready to give birth especially if the baby is overdue. There are times women are kept in the hospital for a few days or more. It is puzzling what happened to her at the Antiguan hospital.
State of the art hospital, eh? There is no state of the art doctors/medical profession. They are the same doctors, from the old/previous hospital, that advise, examine, operate, diagnose and treat the patients. Did they take additional training?
Keep that in mind, you who harass the PM for a state of the art hospital and complain that it is not yet built.
Granted, Dominica is in dire need of such a hospital with proper equipment and a talented medical profession who are not primarily employed for an exorbitant income, to get rich and live a lavish lifestyle. Their first and foremost concern is to provide professional medical care to their patients and to try to restore them to health. They will be answerable to God.
Nationals must take good care of their health and do their utmost to eat and drink nutritiously.
They should also not neglect God in their life, He is the Healer of all our ailments. They must also do good to others. Much more could be stated.
When I awoke this Saturday morning, thinking of all what I have to do, my thoughts ran on the deceased and her relatives, how she passed on and how much they are grieving. My heart goes out to them. Then I thought of commenting further.
We must take time to do good. God takes care of the rest and all what we have to do. He will help us better organize our life.
This article as also some others made me sad. When someone passes on as in this case, it should make each one of us sad. Thanks be to God we are alive and happy to be. We should wish the same for others and for their happiness and peacefulness.
A life gone and a healthy one at that is difficult to comprehend and bear especially for the relatives. If only they could bring their loved one back. This is the hardest part to bear.
They will ask questions and have every right to do so and to demand that they be answered. The head of the medical profession owes it to them and as soon as possible.
This is what I had planned to post instead of that duplication.
I am not a member of the medical profession. I am only a matured adult with some sort of knowledge about this, as read and also heard and one who utilizes common sense.
I am inquiring, do the womb/uterus not contract?
Women do not always have the same size baby. Therefore, when examining mothers to be, a thorough examination should be performed on the size of the womb. As the baby grows in the womb, it should be examined for size and to determine whether a C- section is necessary.
Doctors know too well there are pros and cons of this and could advise the mothers to be accordingly. Some women do not like to take the C-section; others do not mind.
I am speculating that this baby may have been too big to be born naturally, through the womb. Some doctors will consult the mothers to be and decide that a Caesarean section, known as a C-Section, should be performed.
I am speculating that this baby may have been too big to be born naturally, through the womb. Some doctors will consult the mothers to be and decide that a Caesarean section, known as a C-Section, should be performed.
Caesarean section is recommended when vaginal delivery might pose a risk to the mother or baby.
There are pros and cons of this as doctors know too well and could advise the mothers to be accordingly. Some women do not like to take the C-section; others do not mind.
Sorry for this duplicate. Trying to be perfect and trying to type without errors are not easy even though I keep checking for errors/duplication. Actually, I do not know how this happened.
Once sent, too late it cannot be retrieved. I wish I could.
The majority of C-sections are successful. Today, with modern equipment, I would think this operation could be performed with little or no difficulty.
One of the questions to be posed to her Antiguan doctor (and) the one who assisted with her delivery, was such an examination previously performed for the size of her womb and the size of the baby?
If the baby ruptured her womb/uterus, then there most have been a problem with the size of her womb and the size of the baby. The baby could have come out quickly with no problem, if the size of the mother’s womb was wide enough to allow it to pass through with no damage to her womb.
Now what does the doctor mean that they could not stop the flow of blood? What steps they took to stop it?
Life is a growing and learning process. Dominican doctors, you studied medicine, etc., you need to address this issue to DNO’s readers to help us comprehend this.
“must have been”
This is sad. She went to the hospital twice and stated she was ready to give birth and she was told she is not yet ready. Was she even examined then? Doctors must take patients seriously. If she is ready, she knew how she felt.
It appeared the baby was more than ready since she came so quickly. In most cases, babies do not come so quickly. The baby was more than overdue and could not wait to be born.
A womb was ruptured and they had no means of stopping the bleeding. The medical profession should be properly prepared when women are giving birth. So what type of hospital is that and medical profession? It appeared she bled to death and in pain. This is really a sad situation.
To her family, please accept my deepest condolence.
May her soul rest in peace. Amen!
“All they told us was that she tore and they did everything they could to stop the bleeding, and they couldn’t” —News article
Well it is quite obvious, she lost too much blood, since they could not stop the bleeding
Giving birth to a child is always the question of Life or death. I know quite a few people who has died after or while giving birth , it is as close to my family, she being my uncle’s wife–the baby died or was born dead also.
That same thing could have happened to my mom, but she took the warning of the nurse seriously–not to get pregnant again, or she could die through giving birth. Thanks to God, she had already given birth to 10 of us, she left her body at 80 years–the 10 of us are healthy in our adult years/
My mom was also 36 years old at her last pregnancy, age is also a factor in pregnancy and giving birth Ladies do your best to not get pregnant after your 35 years of Life, especially if you already had other children.
I can understand after a woman has that many children.
I am wondering if those who died in childbirth, before or after it is was not negligence on the part of the medical profession. Too often families are told the mother died without an explanation of what really occurred.
Consider, it was stated the baby came quickly. Probably her womb/uterus was too small for the size of the baby. Normally it expands during delivery of the baby.
DNO said when additional information is received, it will be posted.
My condolences to the family and friends. Sadly, if this were to happen in Dominica, I can only imagine the barrage of “mapuis” that PHM and its staff and by extension the government and Min. of Health would have faced.
I’m looking forward to hear what Groovy Bat and Matt has to say in the days ahead.
Smh
A word of advice. Have your baby at home with a midwife and a Dr. on standby if needed. Hospitals don\’t seem to pay attention to women when they say that they are close to delivering.. I wonder if the woman had high blood pressure or eclampsia. Is anyone ordering an autopsy? Hemorrhaging during delivery can be very serious.
Rip Kathy….
I actually had the baby on the open Ward thank God cell phone wasn’t rampant back then cause I’d have made the gazette and them nurses have the audacity to want to be with patients wen these things take place although this took place at the old hospital its the same nurses who were moved from holberton to mount St. Johns so I say different building same characters unless u make an example out of these so called professionals these things will happen my daughter now suffers from a terrible stage of eczema
Cathy I hope your family get the answers to this you were a good friend to all never scorned anyone may your soul RIP your memory will live on to your family I say pray without ceasing till u get justice for Cathy
Sad to say I had the similar experience in 2007 went to the hospital to have my daughter like Cathy I did not want to know the sex when I was checked at about 7am I was told that my dilation was 3cm and was told to go walk Which I did an came back it was short but I knew it was time to head back I told the nurse that I was ready and she had the audacity to yell me she just checked me half an hour later and I aint ready I said I know myself and I know ready I have three daughters already the woman went back to her convo and brushed me off with go walk well I did the humanly thong and I went to lie down decided I’d rather have it on the bed than walking five minutes later her God mother who was with me went to tell them I was ready and they told her the same thing do she said the head is out they sent her to get me with a wheel chair bare in mind the head was already out well I had to have the baby on a bed next to mind cause there was no way to make it down to labor room
You experienced their negligence. This could be scary for a mother-to-be. I bet many others have a similar story to tell.
where are all these haters did in happen at the PMH where;s grell and his team where is mat and q95
@Dominia New York my A$%&S. You are a real J-kASS. Have a heart if you are real human! Do you have a mother, sister, or girlfriend? I don’t think so.
Every sort of deaths. Recently, someone whom I know was operated on in the UK. It was stated the operation was not successful. He passed on. It was shocking.
Yes! This occurs everywhere. However, no one expects a woman will die from childbirth, after giving birth and in a hospital I know of such a case in Toronto.
As a Christian Catholic, I pray for the repose of her soul. I also pray for her grieving family to be comforted by God’s love, compassion and consolation, He who sees their pain of the sudden passing of their loved one.
I also pray that the baby will be well-taken care of. When this baby grows up and hears her mother died after giving birth to her, I am certain for a while at least she will take it hard. Her loving family must prepare her for that day when they inform her. It is a long while yet.
You mean to say, if it was an Antiguan, all hell would break loose in Antigua.. If the circumstances are strange, the family need to take it further.
I do hope people realize that these things happen everywhere and not just in Dominica.
Rest in peace and condolenses to the family.
You are right these things do happens.
May she rest in peace. However ifvthis incident had occurred in Dominica all hell would have broken loose.
women die all over the world giving birth, its just one of those things nature or negligence.
Family hold tight Bon Dieu Bon
No comments yet .I see let it have been in Dominica it happen people would have all kind of things to say about the hospital. ..it would have water to wash the hospital. ..but because it’s another island no people making any comments yet …..that’s how bias we Dominicans are.
I’m not surprised at all. They scared to condemn another country
Sorry about the errors in my previous comments. ..but for real that’s Dominicans already ready to bring down the pm when things happen ….like pmh is the worse hospital.. people things happens in every hospital including the best hospitals around the world .
You must give them time to respond or the comments to be posted. Even though you did not observe comments, this does not mean no one commented. Have you forgotten the comments must first be moderated?
ADMIN: I think that the headline should read “Woman dies after giving birth in Antigua”
I think so too but the article is already posted.
I am so sorry for the family and friends, I know of one great friend she had who stay with her through all this. Like I said in the past this has nothing to do with any new building of hospital it have to with the people who works in these hospitals, who don’t see it fit to do their jobs. Am hoping you all click the link and read the comments by Antiguan nationals who had their kids in bigger countries and also saw women die there to. In Dominica we play to much politics with people lives, the way we go about this must change. We need to change our political attitude or else we’ll be doomed.
Yes, it is sad anywhere it happens. You hit the nail on the head. it can sometimes be about professionals not doing their work effectively, at other times it could happen despite their best efforts and more importantly, it can happen anywhere.
I will also repeat that no politicians deliver babies or perform surgeries or take temperatures and check blood pressures!
Isn’t that the new state of the art hospital I heard about in Antigua? If so, the state of the building may also not necessarily be a determinant of outcomes. Real sad
You couldn’t have said it any better
Sad news … RIP…..Condolences to the family.
‘Really? DNO? “THE DEAD WOMAN’S AUNT?” You couldn’t have phrased it better than that? Her friends and family have just lost her. And that’s the way you phrase it? When people lose someone close so suddenly it is so hard to accept. where’s your empathy?
Since you know better, correct them
Dno did not write the news observer did dno just copy n paste
Admin: The story contains a link which takes you to the Observer article which clearly indicates that this is where DNO got the information.
OMG this is so sad but why is this happening so often
It is disturbing. Put it down to one of those things, strange and unexpected occurrence.
I imagine how sad and grief-filled her family is and that her sudden passing, and in this manner is not easy to bear.