Baby dies after toilet birth
A baby boy has been born in the toilets at Bankstown Hospital and died there minutes later.
The young mother had initially told medical staff she was not pregnant but workers suspected she was.
An almost full-term pregnancy went undetected by a young mother, two doctors and the emergency department.
The 21-year-old woman went to Bankstown's emergency department last night complaining of abdominal pains.
7News revealed she told staff she was not pregnant and that she had just been diagnosed with constipation by two GPs.
Without running their own pregnancy tests, hospital staff sent her for x-rays, examinations which are dangerous for unborn babies.
It was the radiologist who realised the patient was actually in labour but no-one told her and she walked away to use the toilet.
By the time nurses found her, she had delivered a baby boy in the toilet bowl.
His pulse was weak and nurses tried to save him but he died a short time later.
NSW Shadow Health Minister, Jillian Skinner, said it is a disgrace.
"This would be absolute hell for this woman, a living nightmare."
For Jana Horska and Mark Dreyer, the ordeal is a painful reminder.
They lost a child, after Jana miscarried in a toilet waiting for emergency treatment at Royal North Shore hospital.
"To end up in the toilet again, I mean it's just becoming so common, it's haunting to tell you the truth," Mark said.
Jana said she feels terrible for the young mother.
"She will live with that for the rest of her life."
