The loss of a loving family member is always a horrible one that goes straight to just about anyone’s heart.
The passing of a mother, however, can sometimes be considered worse – especially for the family involved, who have been waiting eagerly for the mother’s first step into parenthood.
If a child is lost, you can always try again if you so choose. With the loss of a mother, that option of future parenthood gets closed permanently.
So it is to the shock and grief of this South African family when Nomveliso Nomasonto Modyi, a 33-year old woman who was expecting to be a mother, had passed away suddenly.
Nomveliso Nomasonto Modyi was nine months pregnant living in the Mthyaisi village, a village located near Mbizana on the Eastern Cape of South Africa when she died suddenly, leaving behind another five children and the rest of her family.
76-year old Madzala Mdoyi, the mother of the deceased woman, confirmed that the mother had passed away suddenly, after becoming short of breath at home.
Although they had struggled to deal with this tragedy, the family had the mother’s funeral arranged fairly quickly.
Up till this point, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Funeral arrangements were made as per usual, and the body was placed in the coffin.
It was only ten days later did the strangest thing occur – a newly-born stillborn child had appeared between the legs of its mother’s corpse.
This, understandably, has shocked and traumatised the staff working at the Lindokuhle Funeral parlour, who had not been expecting such an appearance when they were moving the body from the mortuary tray to the coffin.
According to the parlour owner, Fundile Makalana, this incident is unprecedented to him.
He had been working in the industry for over 20 years, and he had never heard of the dead delivering a child.
The news has also shocked Madzala, who has never heard of such a thing either.
She now has to deal with the trauma of both the untimely loss of her daughter, and now the sudden birth 10 days after the mother’s death.
Madzala is currently appealing to the educated public to calm herself and the family down and explain how such an incident could have happened.
Mbikelwa Mphithi, the family spokesman, has stated that the family is now insistent on finding out the reason behind this incident.
They will be consulting both medical experts and spiritual healers known as sangomas to figure out the cause of such a birth.
Presently, it is believed that a combination of the body’s muscles deteriorating and a buildup of gases may have forced the foetus out of the birth canal.
In the meantime, the family has opted to push forward with the original funeral arrangements and have the bodies of both mother and child cremated together in the same coffin.
There have been rumors suggesting that witchcraft is involved, but hopefully there is a simple, logical explanation behind this sudden and strange turn of events.
