In Zimbabwe women suffer stillborn babies and miscarriages daily and are forced to spend days and nights in the same recovery wards with mothers who would have successfully given birth to healthy babies.

This is not only painful for the women who have lost their babies but also psychologically traumatising for them as their hopes of holding a newborn would have just been shattered.

Keeping these vulnerable women in the same wards with new mums happily holding, breastfeeding and playing with their healthy babies over the few days they recuperate is insensitive and slow torture for these women especially since no psychological aftercare is given to them by the hospitals.

Furthermore there is no rule or care that requires a woman being discharged from the maternity ward to have a next of kin or anyone accompanying them for their safety. Many mothers leave the hospital carrying the baby and or the preparation material on their own, at times to catch public transportation after such a gruelling experience. 

We therefore call on the Zimbabwean authorities and Ministry of Health officials to offer psychological after care for mothers who lose their babies or miscarry at public hospitals and clinics before they leave the health centre. We also appeal to the officials to provide separate recovery rooms for these women, for them to come to terms with the loss without being constantly reminded of what they would have just been deprived of.

We also request that upon registration of the pending birth, a next of kin be put in file and required to be present when a woman is being discharged from the maternity ward for both their physical and mental support and safety.