The Sunday News
Robin Muchetu Senior Reporter
WHILE 25 mothers were over the moon on Christmas Day after each having given birth at one of Bulawayo’s three largest hospitals, it was a bitter-sweet experience for one woman who gave birth to a boy with serious deformities. The 19-year-old woman from Hope Fountain on the outskirts of Bulawayo gave birth to a baby with a rare skin condition at United Bulawayo Hospitals (UBH)’s Lady Rodwel Maternity Home, where eight baby boys were delivered on Christmas Day.
The Christmas baby has multiple deformities. He has no ears, has red skin bulging out where his eyes are supposed to be and has large scales on his face.
UBH acting chief executive officer, Mr Norman Sobhuza, said doctors are yet to establish the baby’s condition.
“We want to make sure the health of the child and mother is looked at by doctors and we are trying to protect the mother and the child. At the moment the baby is admitted to a special unit at the maternity hospital.
“Doctors are yet to ascertain the condition that the baby has. Both mother and baby are stable,” he said.
Efforts to interview the mother of the baby were fruitless as hospital management barred the Sunday News from seeing her or the baby, saying the child was in a special isolation room where people were not allowed.
However, a medical practitioner at the hospital said the condition could be Harlequin type ichthyosis.
According to medical researchers, Harlequin-type ichthyosis, a skin disease, is the most severe form of skin disorders a baby is born with. It is characterised by a thickening of the keratin layer in fetal human skin.
In sufferers of the disease, the skin contains massive, diamond-shaped scales, and tends to have a reddish colour. In addition, the eyes, ears, mouth, and other limbs may be abnormally contracted.
The scaly keratin greatly limits the child’s movement. Because the skin is cracked where normal skin would fold, it is easily pregnable by bacteria and other contaminants, resulting in serious risk of fatal infection.
A source within the maternity area said they were all stunned when the woman delivered.
“We have never seen such before at UBH even the doctors said they are not sure what it is, the baby seems to have multiple deformities that we cannot explain too,” she said.
“The baby has serious cracks on the neck and joints, when you look at him it is like he was cut by a knife. The skin is also cracked severely and is grey in colour which is not typical of an ordinary baby.”
She added that part of the hands and legs have very shinny glass like skin on them which is unusual.
It is said when the mother gave birth the baby was taken away and she was counselled on the condition of the baby before they showed it to her. The mother and the father are said to have broken into tears when they saw their offspring.
