Mystery of needles in babies: What doctors say

On May 3, 2018, medics at Kapenguria Referral Hospital in West Pokot were puzzled after finding seven needles lodged in the stomach of a three-year-old girl.

The Kapenguria incident comes just months after another 10-month-old baby was admitted at Thika Level Five hospital with 14 needles mysteriously lodged in her buttocks.

Now doctors see foul play in the bizarre incidents of babies being found with needles in their bodies.

The Kapenguria girl had been living with her grandparents and was taken ill with stomach pains. Doctors conducted an X-ray that confirmed that she had seven needles in her abdomen.

The grandparents said they had no idea of how the needles got into her abdomen and had been ailing over the past two years.

She Mrs Emily Linga’a added that they had been treating their granddaughter with pain killers as she always complained of stomach pains, coughed and had high temperatures.

“At first, I thought the baby had worms. It was unimaginable that she had needles in her body. I had even concluded that may be she had malaria,” she said.

County Health Chief Officer Ibrahim Longolomoi said it was the first case of that nature to be reported at the hospital and suspected the child could have been mistreated.

“We are baffled by such a case and surprised how the baby could survive with needles in her body. Five needles are in the belly and two on the back side. The police officers have also interrogated the grandparents and they have commenced investigations,” he said.

In an interview with the Standard Digital, KTN medical specialist Doctor Mercy Korir said: “It is difficult for me to give a conclusive answer in this scenario. May be the baby was subjected to traditional healing where the needles were inserted into her body. The child’s body should be closely examined for marks and if this is negative then the only conclusion will be the baby swallowed the needles,” she said.

Medics who examined the baby at Kapenguria Hospital established that the needles were inserted in the child’s body, rather than swallowing them.

A consultant-general surgeon at Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi, Dr Mukuhi Ng’ang’a, however, said swallowing of metallic objects could happen among mentally-challenged children.

“There are few cases of mentally-challenged children who have been known to swallow strange objects, when discovered, these children need some form of surgical intervention to remove them,” he said in an interview with Standard Digital.

Dr Ng’ang’a termed the needle cases as a form of abuse which subject children to mental distress.

“The cases of needles being found in babies are not as unusual as one would hope. These cases are almost always as a result of child abuse. Children usually don't deliberately swallow or poke themselves with multiple needles,” he added.

In the Kapenguria incident, the 10-month-old baby was admitted at Thika Level Five hospital.

Thirteen sewing needles were removed through surgery but the last one is still lodged deep in the child’s flesh. Doctors fear removing it could injure the child’s nerves and other blood vessels.

“Much as removing it is risky, it’s important to note that it cannot kill the child. It is lodged in her flesh, but at a deeper level compared to the others that were removed successfully. The child is, however, fine and stable,” said Dr Jacob Toro, director medical services in Kiambu County.

In this case, the parents were aware of the small pieces of metal stuck in the child’s body contrary to their earlier claims.

According to the baby’s mother, Jacinta Ndunge, on November 12, she took baby Jane Wairimu to hospital after noticing she was unwell.

Ms Ndunge told The Standard when she arrived at the hospital, doctors said the child had to be admitted for screening.

However, even before doctors could diagnose the baby’s illness, something happened that alarmed her mother. While changing her daughter’s diapers, something sharp pricked her fingers, arousing curiosity.

“I wondered what it was and called the nurse. After a brief incision, a sewing needle popped out, to our shock,” she said.

The mother of four, who lives in Kiganjo Estate in Thika, said after the discovery of the needle, doctors recommended an X-ray. The X-ray revealed the 14 sewing needles lodged in the little girl’s buttocks.

These bizarre incidences have also happened in other parts of the world.

A Chinese woman, at the age of 29 found out she had 26 needles in her body. The pins had poked into the woman’s vital organs; lungs, liver, bladder and kidneys.

Doctors suspected the pins were imbedded into her body at a tender age by her grandparents who wanted to kill her.

The presence of the needles in her body was the source of her many medical problems that arose when she was an infant.

The situation came to light when she had blood in her urine probing her to seek medical attention. The woman survived after the surgery and all the needles were removed.

Another 11-month-old Chinese girl was found with 12 sewing needles inside her just one month after four other needles were discovered inside her.

In Brazil, a doctor also discovered 50 metal sewing needles were stuck one by one inside the body of a 2-year-old boy.

As many as they were, the surgeons hoped to remove most of the needles – some as long as 2 inches – but some were stuck in vital organs and they had to wait for the child’s condition to stabilise.

The police treated the incident as an attempted homicide as the doctor in charge  believed the needles were stuck into the toddler's body one by one because it would have been impossible for him to swallow them.