Former midwife Yolande Maritz Fouche in the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria.
Image: Zelda Venter
The parents of a baby boy who died nine days after he was born under the watch of Pretoria East midwife, Yolande Maritz Fouchee, are set to testify in the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, regarding the events that took place before and during the birth of the baby.
The Von Kloeg family were due to take the stand in Fouchee’s assault and culpable homicide trial, but the matter was adjourned to Tuesday.
This is for the prosecution to go through a host of pictures and videos that were taken during the birthing process.
The prosecution told Judge Papi Mosopa on Monday that it had consulted with the family on Sunday and they were unaware of the pictures and videos prior to then.
They asked to go through this potential evidence to see what can be used.
Fouchee and her legal team will then have access to the potential evidence to decide whether they will object to it being handed to court as exhibits.
The Von Kloeg family is the third set of parents to take the stand in Fouchee’s trial, in which she is facing 14 charges.
Another mother, Carien Möller, whose daughter Sophia was born with cerebral palsy while under the watch of Fouchee, last week testified with the aid of pictures and videos taken during the birthing process.
Another family, whose child was also born with cerebral palsy, is expected to testify later.
The State is claiming that Fouchee’s negligent actions caused the death of the Von Kloeg baby, who died later at the Steve Biko Academic Hospital.
It is alleged that Fouchee also assaulted the baby’s mother by dosing water with the medication Cytotec and giving the mother the water to drink prior to the birth.
Cytotec is used to induce uterine contractions to hasten the labour process.
She is accused of failing to identify that at 30 weeks, the unborn baby showed signs of growth restriction as well as the warning signs of decreased fetal movement, as reported to her by the mother of the unborn child during two ante-natal visits.
According to the prosecution, she should have referred the mother to a doctor at that stage.
The baby was eventually born at Fouchee’s You&Me clinic in Pretoria East.
It is alleged that although the baby was born very tiny and blue and did not cry or breathe properly during birth, and despite the pleas by the parents to be taken to hospital at that point, Fouchee still refused.
Fouchee, meanwhile, pleaded not guilty to all the charges against her.
She had different defences for each case she is facing, but according to her, she had acted professionally throughout the management of her clients - both before and during the births.
She has meanwhile been deregistered by the Health Professions Council of South Africa as a midwife.
Cape Argus