Medical device lost inside mother during birth falls out 10 weeks later

Laura Jokinen and her baby. Photo / Laura Jokinen

A mother was left horrified and fearful after a medical device fell out of her vagina 10 weeks after giving birth.

Canadian woman Laura Jokinen was walking home with her newborn baby when she started experiencing unbearable pain in her abdomen.

For weeks she had been having painful spells, but as she made it home she buckled to the floor and screamed to her husband for help.

She told CBC when she reached down to her nether regions, she discovered a strange object hanging out.

"It was at that point I reached down and felt a metal device protruding out of my vagina.

"I freaked out … I didn't know what the device was or where it came from. It looked almost like a battery, and there were wires that were running up inside me. I was afraid to remove it, because I wasn't sure if it was attached to my insides."

What fell out was a medical device that had been left inside her while giving birth.

For 10 weeks this fetal scalp electrode was left inside a mother following her C-section. Photo / Laura Jokinen

Jokinen had to have an emergency caesarean section on August 11, 2018, at Nanaimo General Hospital.

Before surgery, the medical team attached an electrode to the baby's head while he was in the womb to monitor the heartbeat.

But part of the monitor was accidentally left in during the C-section.

Her doctor prescribed her antibiotics in the hope of dealing with the pain but didn't pick up that an object had been left inside her.

"At that point, he was two months old and I was breastfeeding, so I was really concerned about what risks this posed to his health," Jokinen said.

The new mother is now demanding the health authority take responsibly for the mishap, but they have refused, instead, blaming the surgeon who was an independent contractor, CBC reported.

"Physicians in BC are independent contractors who are licensed and regulated by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC," the authority said in an email to Go Public.

Jokinen said she was surprised by the health authority's reaction.

"They're responsible for their subcontractor's actions and … providing safeguards to make sure that people aren't harmed."

Jokinen told CBC she wanted to find out what health risks the mishap had on her and her baby.