10-Day-Old Baby Dies During Circumcision

A 10-day-old baby has died at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) Hospital in Kumasi in a suspected case of medical negligence during his circumcision.

Faraj Mohammed was sent to the facility for a male circumcision procedure, but reports indicate that he suffered cardiac arrest during the procedure and died a few minutes later while under the care of the medical team.

Information gathered suggests that on April 3, Mohammed Jamal, 36, a private security officer and Halimatu Adams, 27, a fashion designer took their son to the KNUST Hospital for a male circumcision procedure.

Faraj Mohammed was received by a nurse who took him to the theatre for the procedure.

“Whilst at the hospital, they showed us the theatre. We met a nurse who examined the baby, undressed him and took off his diapers and told us everything was okay,” says Mr Jamal.

The wild cry of the baby was heard for the last time by the parents, who were seated in the waiting area of the theatre.

Then some senior nurses and doctors were seen rushing into the theatre, a development which made the parents distraught.

The baby’s mother knew something bad had happened but had to endure a long wait to hear news about her son.

“I became restless a few minutes later. A woman who spoke to me in Hausa tried to calm me down, but it was impossible. I felt like attending the call of nature”.

The inconsistencies in communicating the situation to the parents fuelled speculations about the baby’s condition.

Whilst the couple was asked to get a hospital attendance card to prepare for admission of the baby, an ambulance was brought in a few minutes later to transport him to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital for further treatment.

Then came the time to break the news of the baby’s death to the parents.

“I didn’t allow the doctor to finish what he was saying…I told him I thought my child was dead…I felt something bad had happened to my son,” Halimatu said.

Mr Jamal stated that his family is traumatized after the death of his son.

“The feeling or the pain that you go through unless you experience it because it’s something you cannot even express,” says Mr Jamal.