Johannesburg - A school field trip to the Sterkfontein Caves turned traumatic for a matric pupil when she unexpectedly went into labour.
Twenty-one-year-old Lydia Makgale from Lephalale in Limpopo was touring the caves with classmates at the Maropeng World Heritage Site near Krugersdorp when she felt a sharp pain in her abdomen on Friday afternoon. Embarrassed and shocked, she said she was confused about what was happening. She knew she was pregnant but the baby was due only in August.
“I was okay since our arrival on Thursday morning. I didn’t have any pains, but felt extremely tired from the walking and taking the stairs,” she told The Star on Wednesday.
“When the pain started, I knew something wasn’t right. I pretended that I was okay to my schoolmates and waited for them to walk past me. I then called my teacher, who was walking behind me, to explain my situation,” she said softly.
Makgale said her teacher called an ambulance and a tour guide. But her baby girl was born a few minutes before the ambulance arrived.
Mother and daughter were taken to Leratong Hospital.
On Wednesday, Makgale was discharged, but her daughter remains in hospital as she is underweight and nurses are monitoring her.
Makgale thanked the hospital staff, saying: “They’ve provided me with toiletries and made me feel safe.”
Her family will fetch her once the baby is discharged.
Makgale will continue her matric studies when schools re-open. “I don’t care if people were laughing at me or making fun of me. I will complete my studies. All I want is to complete my matric year and further my studies next year at a university,” Makgale said, adding that she wanted to be a social worker.
The Star