Durban - When Durban mother of five Anita Moonsamy took a home pregnancy test this year, she was shocked by the result - she was pregnant, despite staff at two state health facilities telling her she was not.
More alarming was that she was using an implanted contraceptive that the Department of Health had rolled out for use in 2014. But Moonsamy’s initial shock was to turn to horror when, in her third trimester, she felt her baby kick. And then she began to bleed.
Rushed to the hospital a week ago, she was not prepared for what she was about to hear: that her baby boy had no heartbeat.
He was dead.
Now the devastated Parkgate, Ottawa woman is demanding answers from the health department: Why did she fall pregnant? Did the implant kill her baby?
Moonsamy also wants to know if the matchstick-sized rod that was inserted into her arm was the cause of her becoming partially deaf.
“I have given birth to five healthy children with no complications and as soon as I start taking this new birth control, I lose complete hearing in my left ear, am left almost bed-ridden, fall pregnant and then lose my baby,” she told POST.
She said the device, Implanon NXT, was given to her by nurses at the Ottawa Clinic as a replacement for the Depo-Provera hormone injection that she had been taking since the birth of her last child in 2012. She was allegedly told that the contraception was proven to be highly effective in preventing pregnancies with a 99.9% success rate.
Moonsamy fell pregnant anyway and carried to seven months before she suffered vaginal bleeding recently.
“I went on the injection in 2012, I was getting it every three months and was perfectly fine.
“In August 2016, I went to the Ottawa Clinic and they refused to give me the injection.
“They told me that there’s something new that came out and that I should come the next day at 9 am for insertion.”
A “straw-like” device was inserted under the skin on the inner side of her upper arm.
“They told me that it would be effective for three years and I would not need to take any contraceptive for that time.”
Moonsamy said she began experiencing headaches for three months and in November suffered what felt like a “mild stroke”.
“I could not lift myself out of bed. I could not move and lost hearing in my left ear.”
Moonsamy said that when she visited her local GP, he told her that it was because of the contraceptive she was taking.
“My pressure and sugar were fine but I was so sick. The doctor gave me vitamins and it took me three months to get back on my feet.”
While her menstrual period had stopped, when she began vomiting and experiencing severe nausea two days before Christmas, she realised these were symptoms associated with pregnancy and so took a home pregnancy test.
“The test came out positive. I immediately went to the Verulam (Primary Health Care) Clinic for confirmation, only for them to tell me I was not pregnant.”
In April, she had the contraceptive removed from her arm.
“I knew I was pregnant and needed the implant out of me. So I went to Osindisweni (Hospital) and had it removed.
“I also had another scan done and they found that I was not pregnant. They told me not to go on any other contraception.”
She said that on July 20 she started bleeding and went to Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Hospital to check what was wrong.
“The hospital did a scan and found that I was, in fact, pregnant, but my baby had no heartbeat.”
Moonsamy said the doctor gave her a tablet and the foetus was “excreted out”.
Answers
She said she questioned the doctor on why she had lost the baby but no answers were given.
“They did a few tests and told me to come back next month for the results to determine the reason for the loss. They advised me to refrain from contraception so that the tests would run clear.”
Moonsamy said both she and her husband Logan, a butchery block man, were devastated and cried for days over their loss.
“We were excited about adding another bundle of joy to our family and even bought baby clothes, blankets, wet wipes and nappies for the baby. I mean I felt the baby move, I took all my prenatal vitamins. I don’t know.”
She said a baby shower and dedication ceremony had also been planned.
“I want answers. How many other women are losing their babies because of this?”
Medical doctor Imran Keeka, the DA’s health spokesperson, said the Depo-Provera hormone injection was never replaced.
“It could have been that they were out of stock but this should have been communicated to the patient. No one should be forced to take contraception they are not comfortable with. It is in our Bill of Rights to refuse.”
He said that as far as he knew, Implanon was a reliable contraception and like all other forms of birth control was not 100% “fail-safe”.
“We have, however, received complaints about the bad side effects to a point that a person can develop blood clotting and even cancer, but this should have been communicated to the patient.”
The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health expressed its condolences to the Moonsamy family.
Spokesperson Ncumisa Mafunda said that like all medicines, all contraceptives supplied by the department - including Implanon - were subjected to rigorous testing and approval for safety by the competent medicines regulatory authority.
“Regarding this complaint, management of Osindisweni Hospital (under whose jurisdiction the clinic falls) has contacted the complainant and is in the process of setting up an appointment with her so that facts can be established, and the right course of action taken.”
The manufacturer of Implanon, global health-care company Merck & Co, was e-mailed a list of questions but had not replied by the time of publication.