WeeklySA_AdminTRAUMA: A Limpopo family demands answers after a 20-year-old mother alleges doctors removed her womb during childbirth surgery without her knowledge, raising renewed concerns about informed consent and obstetric violence in South Africa…
By Thomo Nkgadima
A young Limpopo mother alleges doctors removed her womb during childbirth surgery without her knowledge or consent, leaving her physically traumatised and struggling to come to terms with the loss of her ability to have more children.
Dimakatso Madimabe* (20) says she was eight months pregnant when she attended a routine antenatal check-up at Bothashoek Clinic on August 14 2024.
According to Madimabe*, nurses became concerned about her high blood pressure and referred her to Dilokong Hospital. She was later classified as a high-risk patient and transferred to St Rita’s District Regional Hospital in Praktiseer, about 120km from her home.
They have changed the course of her life and shattered her dream of having more children… — Dimakatso Madimabe’s parents
She says she was not in labour when she arrived at the hospital. Madimabe* says hospital staff contacted her parents before placing her on a drip and taking her to theatre.
“I was attended to by inexperienced student doctors doing their experiential learning,” she alleges.
VIOLATED: 20-year old Dimakatso Madimabe* claims doctors removed her womb without her knowledge or consent. Photo: Thomo Nkgadima
She insists she never signed a consent form authorising a caesarean section or any other surgical procedure. “I did not sign any document giving consent to undergo a caesarean operation.”
Madimabe* further alleges that while recovering, she overheard nurses and doctors discussing what had happened. “I overheard them talking about how they had mistakenly removed my womb.”
She remained in hospital for seven days before being discharged. After returning home, Madimabe* says she experienced severe pain and struggled to recover. “It was my birthday, on August 21, when the pain became unbearable. I was restless, holding onto the bed because of the pain and could not sleep,” she says.
According to Madimabe*, a family doctor who later treated her postoperative wound informed the family that her uterus had been removed and advised them to seek legal assistance.
She says the doctor treated an infection, prescribed antibiotics and monitored her recovery.
“The wound was infected. There was bleeding whenever I went to the toilet.” She says the wound healed slowly and required repeated medical attention.
Her parents say they remain devastated by what they believe happened to their daughter. “They nearly killed our daughter. We believe the hospital removed her womb without her knowledge,” they say. “They have changed the course of her life and shattered her dream of having more children.”
The family says they approached the hospital seeking answers but were dissatisfied with the response. They have since instructed Limpopo-based Mashabela Attorneys to pursue legal action against the Limpopo Department of Health.
Madimabe* says she received no psychosocial counselling from the hospital following the operation and only obtained counselling through private healthcare.
Her mother says she missed more than two weeks of work while caring for her daughter, adding that the trauma also affected Madimabe’s matric examinations.
Madimabe* has since returned to school to complete her matric. She says she still hopes to fulfil her dream of becoming a nurse.
Department responds
Limpopo Department of Health spokesperson Neil Shikwambane says the department cannot comment on the specifics of the matter because it is now the subject of legal proceedings.
He confirms that the department is aware of the complaint and says it will investigate the allegations. Management at St Rita’s District Regional Hospital also declined to comment. Madimabe’s allegations come amid growing concern from legal and human rights organisations over reports of obstetric violence and non-consensual sterilisation in South Africa.
In February 2026, the Centre for Applied Legal Studies (CALS) at the University of the Witwatersrand joined 11 organisations — including the Sexual and Reproductive Justice Coalition, the Women’s Legal Centre and Section27 — in supporting a memorandum to the Department of Health calling for urgent action to end obstetric violence and forced sterilisation in maternity facilities.
The organisations called for mandatory training for maternity healthcare workers on informed consent, contraception and sterilisation procedures.
Earlier, in 2023, the Commission for Gender Equality questioned the National Department of Health over slow progress in implementing recommendations arising from complaints lodged by advocacy group Her Rights Initiative into the alleged forced sterilisation of HIV-positive Black women. – Health-e News
