MOGADISHU (KAAB TV) – There is a growing number of mothers and newborns experiencing serious health complications at the IMC Mother and Baby Hospital in Jowhar.
Several doctors and midwives—many of whom lack sufficient experience in assisting women during labor—have reportedly caused severe complications for mothers seeking safe delivery at the facility. As a result, many women have suffered intense pain and life-threatening pregnancy-related conditions.
Witnesses described an incident in which a midwife was seen using her phone during a delivery, despite being responsible for two lives in a critical moment. By the grace of God, both mother and baby survived. However, staff showed little compassion or professionalism: they failed to perform a necessary incision on a mother giving birth to her second child, instead forcefully pressing on her abdomen to push the baby out.
According to someone present at the hospital, a young girl in labor was even told to leave after staff insisted she was not pregnant. Moments later, her condition deteriorated, and complications during childbirth led to her developing fistula—crushing the hope she once had for a safe delivery. Only after her situation worsened did experienced doctors begin to provide specialized care, which came far too late.
If the problems at this hospital remain unaddressed, countless mothers and their children will continue to face inadequate care and unqualified staff—conditions that could amount to a death sentence for families relying on Jowhar Maternity Hospital.
Local authorities, including the District Administration of the Hirshabelle Region and the Somali Ministry of Health, have urged residents to raise their concerns about the facility’s declining standards.
They are calling for stronger oversight of the skills and qualifications of the midwives working there in order to protect the many mothers already harmed and to prevent further tragedies