Family planning device vanishes in woman's body

Kampala. A woman has sued a renowned family planning and reproductive health service provider Marie Stopes International for negligence and damages worth Shs400m.
Ms Irene Chekwoti sued the health facility and Dr Sarah Mutesi at the Civil Division of the High Court, claiming that her internal organs were damaged when she went seeking family planning services.

Marie Stopes, an international NGO, provides contraception and safe abortion services across Uganda and dozens of other countries around the world.

Ms Chekwoti in court documents seen by Daily Monitor, claims that in September last year, she sought family planning services at Marie Stopes in Bweyogerere, on the outskirts of Kampala, where Dr Mutesi works and advised her to use an Intra-Uterine Device (IUD), a family planning method.

She claims that during insertion of the IUD into her uterus, she experienced a very sharp and unbearable piercing pain and bleeding which she immediately complained about.
She asked Dr Mutesi to stop the procedure and remove the IUD. She claims Dr Mutesi refused to heed her plea.

Checkup
Through her lawyers, Ms Chekwoti further claims that she reported back to Marie Stoppes International and asked that the IUD be removed since the pain had persisted.
She says instead an abdominal ultra sound scan was carried out indicating there was no IUD seen.

She also claims that after failing to detect the IUD in her body, the health facility, recommended an abdominal X-ray be carried out on her at nearby Gwaatiro Hospital, also in Bweyogerere.
Ms Chekwoti claims the results indicated she had a foreign body in her abdomen.

The court documents further indicate that Ms Chekwoti had other abdominal X-rays from Mengo Hospital in Kampala, which recommended an operation, but Marie Stopes again disagreed, saying it was not necessary since the IUD was coming out.

She says she then visited the Women’s Hospital International and Fertility Centre, Bukoto in Kampala, for consultations, further treatment and management where she was admitted with a diagnosis of a lost IUD and uterine perforation.

Ms Chekwoti claims the hospital’s hysteroscopy laparoscopy findings indicated she had a damaged bladder, forcing her to travel to Germany for further treatment.

Ms Chekwoti contends that Dr Mutesi acted recklessly and negligently in the process of inserting the IUD into her uterus for which she now seeks special, punitive and general damages worth Shs400m.

She claims the doctor failed to ascertain the depth of her uterus before inserting the IUD in her abdomen instead of the uterine cavity, thus damaging her organs.
Marie Stopes International is expected to file a defence within 15 days from the date of service of the summons.

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