Thaindian News

Washington, Dec 2 (ANI): Hollywood actress Demi Moore has become a part of a campaign highlighting the plight of abused teenage girls and young mothers in the Third World.

The ‘Ghost’ star narrated a heart-wrenching video of a young African woman’s pregnancy nightmare, which was aired at Oprah Winfrey talk show, reports Contactmusic.

The film was about an African woman called Prudence.

She said, “An African woman has one chance in 20 of dying in pregnancy. In much of the world, the most dangerous thing a woman can do is become pregnant.

“This is Prudence, a 24-year-old mother of three from a remote village in Cameroon. After suffering three days of agonising labour, a midwife sat on her stomach in a desperate attempt to force the baby out, but instead ruptured her uterus.

“Hoping to save the baby, Prudence’s family found someone to drive her 75 miles to the hospital on a motorcycle.”

Moore added, Prudence’s story was picked up by acclaimed New York Times journalist Nicholas Kristof, who found the desperate mum lying ignored and untreated in an empty hospital room two days after she was admitted.

“The now-dead foetus was rotting inside her belly,” she said.

Moore said Prudence needed a blood transfusion to save her life and an emergency Caesarean section to remove the baby, which was slowly poisoning her. But the doctor refused to operate until he was paid 100 dollars.

Although Kristof, who filmed the video, “chipped in” to pay the doctor and offered his blood for the transfusion - but the medic left the hospital for the day without operating.

Moore picks up the story: “The next morning Nick found Prudence lying in her own vomit and her urine bag overflowing. The doctor had finally performed the operation and there seemed to be a bit of hope for Prudence, but she slipped into a coma and, without antibiotics, infection raged throughout her body.” (ANI)