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| Posted: 27 December 2008 at 10:03am | IP Logged
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The Test that Failed
(Maid gave birth after medical results came back negative)
ESTHER NG
The doctor's test on Oct 8 had given the maid the all-clear - so employer W L Lim was shocked when just two months later, Nina gave birth to premature baby after checking herself into hospital.
"Can you imagine the shock I had when a policeman rang me anf tokd me my maid had just given birth?" said Madam Lim, 48, a system analyst.
An even bigger bombshell was the bill.
In addition to paying $5,500 for her maid's Caesarian delivery on Dec 11, Mdm Lim was asked to fork out $67,000 in medical costs for the 27-week-old infant boy, now warded at the KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH) Itensive Care Unit.
Migrant welfar organizations tell TODAY it it very rare for amids to give birth in Singapore. That's because under government regulations, the moment emplyers find out their maid is pregnant, she must be repatriated ir they stand to lose their $5,000 security deposit, said Ms Bridget Lew of the Humanitarian Organization for MIgrant Economics, who personally knows of only one other case.
But Mdm Lim finds herself in an unusual quandary. She claims she was unaware Nina was pregnant and, more significantly, so was the medical expert. "How is it that the doctor failed to detect my maid was four months pregnant?" she asked.
The pregnancy tests currently administered comprise a urine check and an abdominal examination. According to Dr Juliana Abu-Wong, a gynaecologist and obstettrician with more than 10 years' experience, the accuracy of urine-based pregnancy tests cary from 90-95 percent.
Mdm Lim said when she met with the Ministry of Manpower last week, she learnt a blood test was more accurate. But it is up to eomplyers to order it.
While she acknowledges that her case is unusual, Mdm Lim wonder if more can be done to spare employers the agony of coping with a pregnant maid and medical bills. "If these two tests are insufficient to detect pregnancy, perhaps the blood test should be included."
The Association of Employment Agencies Singapore told TODAY it was not keen on makiung the blood test mandatory as this would increase the cost for employers. Moreover, Mdm Lim's situation was more an exception than the norm.
But Mdm Lim feels the added cost is a small price to pay. "Can you imagine the stress I am going through? Wouldn't you rather pay a little bit more and not have to fret over an even bigger medical bill or deal with emotional stress?"
A more immediate concern is who will foot the bill for Nina's boy, who weighed just 1.2kg at birth. Dr. Bhavani Sriram, a senior consultant at KKH's department of neonatology, said "generally, babies are deemed healthy to b discharged when they are at elast 2kg and 35 weeks old.
Mdm Lims' lawyer, Mr Mark Goh, is of the view that she is not liable for the medical cost of her maid's baby. The undertaking was signed by Nina's friend, a maid. "Though the rules require the employer to bear the full cost of maid's medical care, nowhere does it say te employer should bear the medical cost of her kin," said Mr. Goh.
According to KKH, Nina's friend, Ms Shushma Sari, was made aware of what she was signing. Nina's baby was dangerously breached and had to be immediately delivered by emergency C-section.
Said Mr Johnny Quah, KKH's chief financial officer: "Part of the admission process includes financial counselling. As the staff was unable to contact Nina's employer, she explained the estimated charges to Nina's friend and the signature obtained was nore as an indication that she understood the charges and would convey it to Nina's employer." The hospital will not pursue Ms Shushma for payment.
Mr Quah added that Mdm Lim came to KKH's business office "the following day" to rpovide Nina's passport details and the estimated bill size was explained to her.
MAID CLAIMS SHE DIDN'T KNOW
Earlier this year, Nina, who has worked for Mdm Lim since 2005, confided that she was interested in a Malaysian worker who had proposed to her. Mdm Lim reminded her many times to "be careful".
In recent months, Mdm Lim noticed a slight bump on Nina's tummy and asked if she was pregrant. "She said she wasn't and she would tell me if she was, as she didn't want to get me in trouble... She said she had constipation."
Nina, 26, claimed she did not know she was pregnant as her periods were irregular and her underwear was occasionally spotted with blood. When she felt movement in her womb, she put it down to constipation.
She told TODAY: "My boyfriend promised me we would get married in December... but now he's nowhere to be found."
Edited by administrator on 28 December 2008 at 5:05pm
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pclum
Joined: 27 December 2008
Location: Singapore
Online Status: Offline
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| Posted: 27 December 2008 at 10:30am | IP Logged
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I and my relative were discussing a few days back and we
think the employer is not responsible to pay for the
bill and as there is no way the employer can stop the
maid from pregnancy if she want to , the employer can
only making ways to prevent the maid from pregnancy
only. The obligation of the employer is only limited to
the $5000 bond
Actually I would like to know the result of this
incident. Do the employer , madam Lim pay for the bill?
do the hospital reserve the right to sue mdm lim if she
don't pay ?
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gatecrasher
Joined: 13 May 2008
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| Posted: 27 December 2008 at 3:50pm | IP Logged
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Well, it said that the more expensive blood test is more accurate than the standard and cheaper urine-based test for pregnancy
It's true that some women don't even know that they're pregnant when, in fact, they do. I knew of a case many years back of a woman whose foetus died in her womb without her realizing it despite the fact that she had given birth before.
I totally agree that employer should NOT bear the cost of the maid's NOK. Why should we?
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pclum
Joined: 27 December 2008
Location: Singapore
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 2
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| Posted: 27 December 2008 at 9:44pm | IP Logged
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the urine test is 90 to 95% accurate and that mean there are 10% that either the maid not knowing and the doctor make mistake and 90% mean that the urine is others as there is no mean to know if the urine is her. It seem that the news only reported once and there is no mean to find out how is the case now. Anyone know how is it now ?
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Topic: Surprise Pregnancy - The Test That Failed
