Mother and one-day-old baby die at New Amsterdam Hospital

…as grieving family alleges negligence

The family of Latoya Griffith, a 32-year-old mother of three who died at the New Amsterdam Regional Hospital on Thursday, just one day before her baby also passed away, is calling for a full investigation, alleging negligence and claiming that the medical system failed both mother and baby. Speaking at their Gibraltar Village, Region Six, home on Sunday, Griffith’s mother, Virginia Jones, spoke through tears as she recounted the chain of events that led to the double tragedy. Jones said her daughter attended her scheduled clinic on Tuesday and was later admitted to the maternity ward the same day. According to her, Griffith returned home briefly to collect clothing and personal items before being taken back to the hospital. By Thursday morning, the family said Griffith complained that her “water bag” had burst.
“She come, she tell me, ‘Mommy, I feel like my water bag break.’ I said alright. Then she call back and say the nurse run to doctor, and the nurse say it’s a 50-50 case, she have to go to theatre,” Jones recalled. Jones said she was unaware that those would be the final moments she would see her daughter alive. “Soon as I left, things get worse with my daughter. We get a message she need blood. When we reach there, they say she have to go to town. It was so much confusion… mix up, mix up,” she said.
According to Jones, relatives were later told repeatedly that it was a “50-50 situation,” but within hours they were informed that Griffith had died.
“When my daughter and my brother went, they say she pass. We sit down there waiting to see her… they push you out, cover her up so we can’t see she,” the grieving mother recounted. She said when she was finally allowed to view her daughter’s remains, she was horrified. Adding to their unimaginable grief, her baby died the next day, and family members believe that the newborn’s distress was ignored. Jones said the baby did not appear to be breathing at birth and believes the newborn was already in distress as Griffith’s condition deteriorated.
“To my opinion, is when me daughter dead, then they take over the baby, because the baby wasn’t breathing anymore,” she claimed. The grieving grandmother claims that there was minimal communication from doctors about what transpired during the delivery, whether labour was induced, or why a C-section became necessary.
“She had no medical issues,” she added.
“No pressure, no sugar, nothing wrong with her… She was going clinic steady, they know all about her.” She said Griffith had gone through her pregnancy without any complications and was preparing to welcome the new addition to her family.
One of the more serious allegations raised by the family is that Griffith’s signature may have been forged on a medical document.
The family said they are unable to confirm what document was allegedly signed or what it authorised. “We need justice” — three children now left behind,” the grieving mother added. Jones said the loss has shattered her family, particularly Griffith’s three young children, who are now left without their mother. “It ain’t easy… she got her three kids we gotta take care of,” she said. “Me daughter always say, ‘Mommy, I will stay in my house and take care of you and get your money.’ Now look what happen.”
Fighting back tears, Jones said she refuses to let her daughter’s death go unanswered.
“I need justice for my daughter… She done dead and gone… We can’t let this rest,” she said. The family is calling on the Ministry of Health and the regional health authorities to launch a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding both deaths.
To date, the hospital has not issued a public statement on the incident.