Keisha Shakespeare-Blackmore, Staff Reporter

Recap: Last week, Gabriellewent to the hospital to do a blood test and ultrasound. She had to wait more than nine hours with a full bladder and an empty stomach before getting attention.

As Gabrielle'sdelivery date draws closer, she has many concerns.

Recently, her friend, who is also pregnant, went to the hospital. She had some complications with her pregnancy, so she was admitted, and had a horrible experience.

Four to a bed

"My friend told me that when she went in, she was the only one on the bed. But, within days she had to share the bed with three other women," said Gabrielle.

Gabrielle also learnt that her friend had to sit up, even when she was in pain, because they all could not fit comfortably on the bed.

What bothers Gabrielle most is, that her friend is older than she is and is not HIV-positive and she was still treated poorly. "So, I can just imagine when I go in how they are going to treat me."

She said her friend told her that she should try not to give birth as yet, but wait until more beds become available.

"The fact is, the longer I take to give birth beyond my due date, the more my baby will be at risk of being exposed to the virus. So, whether or not beds are available, when the baby comes, I just have to give in."

Extremely worried

Gabrielle said with everything she has heard, plus her past bad experiences, she is extremely worried. She had a terrible experience at the hospital when she went in to give birth to her first child.

"When my water broke, the nurse told me that I was not ready to have the baby. She closed my legs and told me to lie on my side. That affected the baby."

At birth, the baby could have been starved. She could not breastfeed because she is HIV-positive and she could have passed on the virus to the baby in doing so. When she asked the nurse to assist her in getting food for her baby, the nurse said she could not do so at the time. "She told me she had to go next door to get the feed for the baby and she would do it later. I had to give my son the left-over feed from earlier in the morning."

She said the nurse did not return to assist her. Thankfully, later in the day, another nurse helped her. Now, she believes the same thing or worse will happen. She said her boyfriend tries to console her, but, she said she will not feel at peace until she gives birth and her baby is well.

Name changed to protect identity.

Send your comments to keisha.shakespeare@gleanerjm.com.