Blaming game

When you work in Klinik Kesihatan you meet different kinds of people every day. Most of the time you can appreciate the different view from other people, but sometimes you will just open your mouth in disbelief and close it because you lost word to comment anything.

Last week I had an U5M (Under 5 Mortality). A 9 months old boy with no comorbid was the victim. On the first day when the news was out, people blamed the babysitter. The next thing you know, just the next day, people blamed the parents.

Who to blame and why the blaming game? Initially, when the news said the baby had bleeding in the brain, possibly due to 'Shaken Baby Syndrome', of course, people will accuse the babysitter because the baby was under her care during the incident. The next day after the postmortem, it was said that there was bleeding but was not due to abuse. No evidence of physical abuse was found. Also in the news was mentioned that the child had fever for 3 days prior to the incident. Just after the news was out, people changed their mind, the parents were the suspects then.

I had the chance of meeting the parents a few days after the incident. The baby previously was under the care of our clinic and I was supposed to make the report for this case. The parents looked strong and gave full cooperation. They wanted justice for their baby, at the same time they accepted the fate. Must be so hard for them, their first child, the only child :(

I didn't manage to meet the babysitter yet. The nurses and I did plan to meet her but she went back to her hometown. The pressure of people accusing her to cause the death of the baby may cause her to be stressful and down. So for now. we didn't get the other side of the story from her.

Thing is for a high profile case like this, people nowadays like to add spices and flavor in their comments and posts. They blame and accuse and punish like they are God. Everyone has their own opinion but if you don't know the whole story, wouldn't it better if you just keep whatever accusation you have in your own head?

Where can I find a Muslim female O&G specialist in Manjung?

Today a friend of mine came to the clinic, wanted a second opinion regarding her pregnancy. She is currently at 38weeks pregnancy. I did a scan for her when she was 36weeks, the baby had a transverse lie so I immediately referred her to the hospital. Apparently, she asked for an AOR discharge despite the counseling given for her unstable lie. She was keen to deliver in a private hospital. 

Well, today she came to me saying that 2 days back, she had a follow up in a private hospital. She was told that her baby weighing 2.8kg and her AFI (amniotic fluid index) is high - 21. She was told to come back for a repeat scan on the 31st of Jan. The thing is, she said every appointment will cost her ~RM270! Quite a lot for a chit chat and scan she claimed. Previously at another private hospital, they charged her around RM100+/appointment, never reaching RM200. So she asked me very nicely whether I could her help to scan and to double check her AFI.

Turned out that her AFI was normal, only 14.8. I scanned twice for confirmation and the result was about the same. Even during her 36weeks scan, her AFI was about that range, far from number 20. I counseled her and gave some suggestions since she looked worried and frustrated. Of course, the AFI level may increase and decrease throughout the pregnancy but for now, the AFI is normal. Even the presentation was cephalic and she had no labor symptom so she shouldn't worry much. 

She asked me whether she should still go and repeat her scan in the private hospital (and pay RM270)? I answered her with honesty but let just keep it as a secret ;) 

She delivered her 4 children previously by a female Muslim doctor in a private hospital. For her 5th pregnancy, she is very keen to do the same. Unfortunately, in Manjung, most of the O&G specialists are male and non-Muslim. The nearest you can go is Ipoh or Taiping. 

To conclude all that, we really need a female Muslim 0&G specialist in Manjung! You can really make money here you know!