Thyolo District Council has dismissed reports that three expectant women died at Thyolo District Hospital in the past week due to negligence, announcing that maternal death audit scheduled for October 20, 2026.

Council Spokesperson Yamikani Yapuwa says only two maternal deaths were registered in the district during the reporting period.

"The first case was a direct obstetric death attributed to eclampsia," says Yapuwa.

She explains that the deceased was a 15-year-old girl Chisomo Imran from Kapsepse Village, Senior Chief Inkosi Bvumbwe, who had delivered twins at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital on 2nd October 2026 and reportedly absconded from the hospital.

According to Yapuwa, the girl later presented at Makungwa Health Centre with convulsions and loss of consciousness and was referred to the District Hospital but died in transit before arrival.

The mother to the deceased, Estere Alfred, has admitted to Zodiak that sickness started three days after they were discharged from Queens where eclampsia was detected.

"Sickness started three days after we left Queens before she died upon arrival to the hospital," said Alfred.

On the second case, Yapuwa says it involved a 38-year-old woman who was on her fifth pregnancy and died due to postpartum haemorrhage and suspected aspiration.

"She was admitted on 3rd October 2026 with a 32 weeks pregnancy, was managed and discharged on 7th October with a plan to return at 37 weeks for an elective Caesarean Section, but returned the same day night in early labour," she says.

She says an emergency Caesarean Section was conducted where a preterm baby was delivered, but the procedure was complicated by extensive adhesions with an estimated blood loss.

She added, "At around 07:10 hours on the same day, the woman developed postpartum haemorrhage with an additional blood loss, vomited and suffered cardiac arrest before dying despite resuscitation efforts".

Meanwhile, she says the Council takes all concerns regarding maternal health services seriously and urges the public to report through appropriate channels for evidence-based investigation, as the safety of mothers and newborns remains a priority.

Currently, the Institutional Maternal Mortality Ratio for Thyolo District stands at 31 per 100,000 live births.