Waikato Hospital is reviewing security after an intruder exposed himself near a woman who was showering after giving birth.
The man, who was metres from the woman when he was spotted in the maternity wing on Saturday, ran off and has not been found.
Hospital officials said they did not know where
the man came from but a security report into the incident confirmed staff had challenged him 90 minutes before the offence.
The Henry Bennett Centre for mentally ill patients is next to the hospital.
The new mother had been taken to the shower by a midwife.
Minutes later, the midwife heard groaning coming from the room and returned to find a man masturbating.
The midwife called out to the man and he ran off.
The new mother - who was not aware of his presence - was told about the incident later.
Hospital spokeswoman Karen Bennett said security staff regularly checked the hospital grounds and all staff were required to wear identification tags at all times.
She said the hospital took security seriously and would review the incident to see whether new security measures could be put in place to prevent it happening again.
"We need to look at all the circumstances before we decide what can be done," she said.
"Because it's a hospital for women and children we encourage family to visit, so there are always a lot of people there."
Police were called and given a description of the man.
New Zealand College of Midwives spokeswoman Catherine Mostyn-Williams said she had never heard of anything similar happening at the hospital before.
"It's totally bizarre.
"It [the hospital] has fire exits at either end. There are usually people at the front desks so it would be quite difficult to get to the delivery suite," she said.
"But with any big building, there's always a chance."
- NZPA
Herald Feature: Hospitals
