Former midwife Yolande Maritz Fouchee on Monday in the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, testifying in her own defence. Former Pretoria midwife Yolande Maritz Fouchee maintained her innocence while testifying in the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria in defence of allegations that her actions led to two babies born with disabilities,while one died shortly after birth and another was declared dead at birth. She is facing 14 charges, including assault and culpable homicide following claims that she did not pay attention to the risk factors of several of her clients at her You&Me birth clinic in Pretoria East.It is also claimed that she allowed her teenage daughter, who may not be named in terms of a court order, to assist her with the births, while the teenager had no training in this regard.
She is facing 14 charges, including assault and culpable homicide following claims that she did not pay attention to the risk factors of several of her clients at her You&Me birth clinic in Pretoria East. It is also claimed that she allowed her teenage daughter, who may not be named in terms of a court order, to assist her with the births, while the teenager had no training in this regard. Other charges include that she gave some of her clients a substance known as the abortion medication Cytotec to drink to induce labour – something which was described by an expert as being very dangerous to do under the circumstances.
Several women testified that they were given “water with rescue remedy” to drink, which shortly afterwards led to severe contractions. According to her daughter, who earlier testified for the prosecution, the substance was in fact the abortion remedy. But Fouchee testified that inducing labour was not a standard practice at her clinic.
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Cytotec was kept at her clinic, she said, but it was never used in the four cases for which she is standing trial. According to her, the medication is only used in emergency cases, which the four cases she is facing were not.
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