I purged all night, not knowing I was in labour— OAU student-mother

 





News recently filtered in that Oyinlola Diana Rotimi, a 400-level student of the Department of Agricultural Extension and Rural Development, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, allegedly attempted to flush her baby down the toilet.
Campus beats caught up with the new mother and she unraveled the circumstances that led to the incident and how she and the baby had since been.
“The scenario has been overwhelming, it’s unexplainable. I can’t really express how I feel, but I know the feeling is great and wonderful. And contrary to the rumours that I wanted to flush my baby, that is not true.
“That I intended to harm my baby is a blatant lie. I was purging all night and since I had no idea of what labour pain was, I never gave it much thought. I went through pain all night and it was later in the morning when I went to the toilet, that I suddenly felt a force in me and the baby just came out and entered into the closet. I was just there standing, bleeding. I was more than shocked. People later came in and when they saw the blood, rushed for help,” she explained.
Oyinlola added that it was a friend, who she simply identified as Satope that approached the toilet and found the baby, before calling on an elderly cleaner for assistance. She further added that it was an experience that really scared her, as she was not due for the baby yet.
“Seeing the baby was terrifying because I was not expecting the baby till later next month,” she said.
The new mother who hails from Ijabe, Osun State, said she would continue to keep her baby, adding that although it is not for her to decide what the future holds for her son, she definitely knows the best awaits him.
Speaking earlier with officials of the Security Unit, Satope corrobated what Oyinlola said, stating that Oyinlola had to spend the night of June 18, on campus to enable her prepare for examinations the next day as she was staying off-campus.
“It was later at midnight that she started complaining of stomach upset and she used the toilet frequently. Later in the morning, we opined that she should be taken to the University Health Centre, for treatment, to enable her write the examinations in good health.
“It was later when she visited the toilet and didn’t return on time that I decided to check up on her and realised that she had given birth in the toilet. It was really amazing,” she said.
Efforts to see the father of the baby, Oyewole Samuel Mosope, a 400-level student at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, proved abortive.