Missing twin: Couple takes 37 Military Hospital On

A couple in Accra thought they were going to have twins when they went to the 37 Military Hospital Maternity Unit. But they only had one child.

They say that the hospital staff is to blame for the "disappearance" of one of the babies who was supposed to be the other twin born at the hospital.

The baby was born through a Caesarean section on Thursday, September 8, 2022.

Audrey Agyapong, a trader who is 38 years old, and her husband, Daniel Naawu, who is 54 years old, think something is wrong and suspect wrongdoing.

The couple told the Ghanaian Times in Accra about what happened. They said that ultrasounds done at two hospitals, including the 37 Military Hospital, 31 weeks into the pregnancy showed that Ms. Agyapong was carrying two live fotuses (twins).

The Ghanaian Times did a lot of research and found that the first scan report, which was signed by Dr. Otu Danquah, was done at the Cerica Diagnostic Services at Lartebiokoshie in Accra on April 22, 2022, when the baby was 20 weeks old.



Its results showed that there were live foetuses inside the uterus.



Also, a second ultrasound done at the 37 Military Hospital on July 21, 2022, and signed by Drs. M.T. Mpetey and R. Asiedu, a Resident and Senior Physician, respectively, confirmed that twin A weighed 269g and twin B weighed 261g, just like the first scan had said.



"We did a total of four scans, and all of them showed that I was carrying live twins. It's strange that one of them could have died at birth," Ms. Agyapong said to the Ghanaian Times.



She said that on September 7, 2022, when she was 38 weeks pregnant, she was taken to the 37 Military Hospital. There, her vital signs were checked, and two foetal heart beats were found to be normal.

"On the morning of the surgery, September 8, 2022, my babies were checked again and I was told they were both fine. So, they were given double the logistics. At the hospital, they got me ready for the surgery and gave me anaesthesia, which completely numbed my legs.

"A screen was put in the middle, so I couldn't see what was going on straight on. But I could feel the two babies being taken away from me. Later, I heard a baby girl cry, and a doctor named Dr. Ali Saine showed me one baby girl and said, "It's only one baby."

The Caesarean section was done by Dr. Saine, who is a senior obstetrician and gynaecologist at the 37 Military Hospital.

"I was shocked, and while I was trying to figure out what had just been said to me, I heard the doctor tell his team to get out their phones and record it. I was taken to the recovery ward, where the doctor told me he would come talk to me. Ms. Agyapong said that since the incident, she hasn't been able to sleep at night.

The mother was already upset, but things got worse when she found out that what she thought was a second baby was actually a placenta.

"I was shocked because I had given birth before, so I knew how it feels when the placenta comes out."

Mr. Naawu, a senior driver at J.A. Plant Pool Ghana Limited in Accra, said that his baby's supposed disappearance was "unacceptable" because he was asked to pay for double items before the operation.

"I already have twins from my first marriage, and I was happy to find out I was going to have another set. Then I heard this shocking story," the father, who was clearly angry, said.

He went on to say, "As I speak, I haven't been able to find the child or name her because I don't know if the other missing baby is a boy or a girl."

On October 10, 2022, Mr. Naawu asked the Commander-in-Charge of the 37 Military Hospital to look into the situation and bring his missing child back.

The Ghanaian Times tried several times to talk to Dr. Ali Saine about the situation, but he insisted on getting permission from the Commander-in-Charge of the 37 Military Hospital.

"We have a set plan in place here. He said, "I can't talk to the media unless you get permission from the right people at the hospital."

After a couple of failed attempts to talk to him, the Ghanaian Times asked the Commander-in-Charge of the 37 Military Hospital for an interview with Dr. Saine on October 14, 2022.

Since then, there have been several follow-ups, but they haven't helped because the hospital's administration always said, "We're working on it."

The Ghanaian Times sent another letter to the Public Affairs Department of the 37 Military Hospital on October 28, 2022, asking for an interview with Dr. Ali Saine. They only got a verbal response saying that an investigation into the case had begun.

But Wing Commander Isaac Bediako Ford­juor, an eye doctor at the 37 Military Hospital who is part of a team that is looking into the matter, told the Ghanaian Times in November of last year that investigations had begun.

"We've talked to everyone involved, including the nurses who worked at the hospital on that terrible day, and we'll let you know what we've found when we're done," he said.

Since the start of the investigation, nearly four months have gone by.