In September 2020, Fatoumata Silla had a miscarriage. She ends up at Jean-Verdier Hospital in Bondy to give birth. Sadly, she will have a traumatic experience and a chilling lack of consideration from the caregivers.
When she is five months pregnant, she learns that her baby is not breathing after an ultrasound performed by her midwife.
Last September, she went to Jean-Verdier Hospital in Bondy, Île-de-France, to give birth. A university structure located near the home of her sister, with whom she was staying during her vacation in France. It is then taken care of by a nursing staff "incompetent", who cannot advise her. Yet it is written on her file that she is coming for a "fetal death ”. “I was taken care of by interns. They were asking questions among themselves. They were totally lost and I felt it ”, says Fatoumata.
She is then taken care of by a gynecologist who examines her and explains the procedure for her delivery, which will take place within three days. "I will have to take three pills which will trigger my delivery and it will be done over three consecutive days."
"It was difficult for me, because in front of me I see my baby who no longer lives, who does not move"
The next day, she returns to the hospital for an ultrasound with another gynecologist. A very difficult exam for the young woman, especially sinceshe realizes that she is not taken seriously. And for good reason, the doctor makes a lot of jokes, especially on the Gambian origins of the young woman of 32 years. "African women are weird, they'll be like 'cause I ate something, I lost my baby' or "Because I went up the stairs, I lost my baby", laughs the doctor with another colleague.
“It was difficult for me, because in front of me I see my baby who is no longer living, who does not move. I don't want to laugh at this time ”, says Fatoumata.
"I hold the baby so he doesn't fall to the floor"
After taking the correct treatment “Just prepare the collar”, Fatoumata is losing a lot of blood. She then returns to the hospital on Sunday, panicking with Samy, her husband. While the delivery was due to start on Monday. “I see the midwife and explain to her that I have very strong contractions. She then takes me to a room to have my blood pressure checked as I explain to her that I'm having the baby now. "
Between two doors to the emergency room, Fatoumata ends up giving birth to her baby, in the hallway. “At that moment, I am shocked, devastated. I hold the baby so he doesn't fall to the ground ”, she remembers.
“Don't worry, you already have three children”
The gynecologist on site then demonstrates chilling inhumanity.“Don't worry, you already have three children”, she told him. But the nightmare is not going to end there. When it comes time to be examined, the gynecologist asks him a traumatic question. : “Madam, do you want to see the product ? ”, she asks him. The product then designated Fatoumata's baby. The young woman takes herself first "a slap", Then she realizes that it is the baby she just gave birth. She then asks to see her son. "It's shocked in the room, I can't even speak, cry anymore, I'm numb, I close, I put myself in my bubble", she recalls.
The gynecologist then returns with a plastic bag, in which the baby lay. “At this moment, I feel like nothing, I don't feel considered. It is borderline humiliating. I wonder why she is bringing my baby in a plastic bag. ”
"No one thought it was a child that I loved, that I carried, that I wanted"
Distraught, she asks the doctors to bring her child back to a suitable condition so that she can see him with her husband and they can recover the body for burial. “The midwife comes back and she says' I'm going to prepare it but on the other hand, I advise against seeing it because it will be more of a horror sight than anything else.” Once again, this is a shock to the couple. "No one thought this was a child that I loved, that I carried, that I wanted", says Fatoumata.
Finally, the nurse brings the baby in a… bean. The couple then ask to recover the body as well as the photos and fingerprints of the baby. After that, the neglect continues. When leaving the hospital, the couple collects a pouch with the birth certificate. But they realize that the baby's photos and fingerprints are missing. Finally, they leave only with the fingerprints, the photos cannot be found.
A testimony to alert the world
Following this invisible violence, she decides to speak up to tell her story. Her testimony posted on her Instagram account collects many messages of encouragement and support, especially from some women who have experienced the same traumas.
Fatoumata has since returned to Dubai, where she lives with her three children and her husband. For her, it is important to speak up. “I knew I had to talk, because I know there are others.” For her case, Fatoumata also thinks of the Mediterranean syndrome, "We think that African women are stronger, that they can take things more easily when we deserve to be supported like all other women".
Meanwhile, the hospital responded in a statement. “Work has been initiated by professionals to analyze the different stages of care for this patient who presented with a pregnancy with death in utero”.
A fight that Fatoumata intends to carry so that things change and that no woman does not have to go through what she went through.