Heavily pregnant woman attacked and robbed after going into labour on London street
Patience Chukwu's baby boy Ozil still suffers from seizures eight weeks later
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An eight-week old baby is still suffering from seizures after his mother was violently attacked and robbed on the street while she was in labour.
Patience Chukwu was en route to Homerton Hospital in Hackney at around 9am on 26 June when she was approached by a young man on a bike who tried to snatch the phone out of her hand .
During the struggle, the 40-year-old was dragged into the road by the thief who attempted to punch her in the stomach despite her repeated screams that she was pregnant.
She said: “He was pulling me, dragging me with the bike, I was pleading. I said: ‘Please, I’m in labour, as you can see I’m heavily pregnant.’ He didn’t want to listen, he didn’t want to stop, he was trying to ride the bike.
“He really wanted to hit my tummy because the level of which his hand was coming would have landed on my stomach. So I shielded my baby, with my hand and I bent down, the blow went to my eyes and everything became so dark”.
The attacker then fled and witnesses rushed to Ms Chukwu’s aid during the incident in Leadale Road, Stamford Hill.
When Ms Chukwu was taken to hospital by police she had to undergo an emergency caesarean as the baby became distressed and midwives could not find a heartbeat.
After the operation she was not able to hold her new son, Ozil, until the next morning and felt “sad and responsible” for his suffering while she sat next to him in the incubator.
She said: “I saw all the wires connected, I felt so responsible that my baby was going through that.
“I felt that if I had not run after the man or held on to him, being dragged by him, my baby might not have gone through that stress.
“But I was told even if I didn’t go after the boy or hold him, the shock alone that my phone was snatched unexpectedly is also enough for the baby to go through that same shock, that stress.”
Baby Ozil still suffering from almost daily seizures due to what doctors think is the trauma of the attack.
Since the attack, Ms Chukwu has struggled to leave the house as the depression and anxiety she suffered from beforehand has worsened: "I don't feel safe, I don't feel free going out now”.
She said: “I'm so afraid of people coming towards me... And no matter how important the call is, if I have a phone call, if my phone is ringing as long as I'm outside I don't pick it up.
“Now if I see someone coming, especially a man on a bike, I will look for another alternative route to take.”
Scotland Yard released an e-fit of the suspect they are hunting for.
He was described as a short black man of medium build between 18 and 20 years old, with shaven hair and brown eyes.
He was wearing a grey hooded top and has a slim face with pronounced cheekbones and a rough, pock-marked complexion.
The mother-of-two is pleading for anyone with information to come forward, "not for me or my son but for another woman and another baby not to go through what we went through and the ordeal we are going through at the moment".
It will be "difficult" to move on until her attacker is brought to justice, she added.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the investigation team on 07795 122 325 or 101 and request Hackney CID, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.