News: Filipina & Nigerian mothers deliver babies prematurely, unable to pay bills to take babies home

Life is full of surprises, but for Maria Teresa and Chinelo Jacinta, this is one they could have done without.

Filipina Maria and Nigerian Chinelo both delivered babies prematurely through C-section and are now unable to pay the bills to take their babies home.

 Maria, a 32-year-old Jumeirah Clinic nurse, was scheduled to go to the Philippines for her delivery due on January 25. Instead, she is stuck with unpaid bills amounting to about Dh80,000 after she suddenly started bleeding and had to be rushed to Al Baraha Hospital last December 1 where she delivered her baby.

“I had to undergo an emergency C-section and my baby was born more than a month in advance,” she said, grateful her baby Jayanna was saved.

She said the cost of keeping her baby incubated was too steep. “My daughter had to be incubated as she was premature and the costs were very high. It was Dh2,200 a day. She was shifted to the paediatric ward on January 1 where the fee is Dh200 a day. She has been ready for discharge for some time now, but I am unable to bring her home as I cannot clear the huge bill.”

Maria said the family’s monthly income cannot meet hospital costs as she earns Dh3,000 and her husband, who works at a restaurant, makes Dh1,500.

“We knew our limitations, so we had planned my delivery in the Philippines. Please come to our rescue. We want our baby home.”

The case of Chinelo is even more desperate as her baby boy has been in Dubai Hospital since October 28 and the bill has run up to Dh275,000. Her husband Kingsley Ejifor is an accountant and earns Dh5,000. “I don’t have medical insurance and my company said they cannot lend me this huge amount. The hospital will not discharge my son unless the bill is paid,” he said.

Like Maria, Chinelo too was forced to deliver her baby a month premature after she developed high blood pressure. “The previous evening, we had gone for a normal check-up and her BP was over 230. The doctors immediately advised a C-section as it was dangerous for the mother and child.

“The caesarian itself cost Dh10,000 and I told the doctors I could not afford it. But the operation had to be done to save their lives,” said Ejifor.

The baby – yet to be named and currently going by his mother’s name – has been in the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit since birth.

He is in good health and can go home – but for the hospital bill that needs to be paid.

If you wish to help Maria and Chinelo write to editor@xpress4me.com
Culled from GulfNews

#What about the Philippines & Nigerian embassies, can't they help? #JustMyOneCent