Stillborn Noah would have been ‘perfectly healthy’ if delivered earlier, inquest hears
Mother had shown signs of severe preeclampsia
‘Perhaps a life could be saved’
A STILLBORN baby would have arrived in ‘perfectly healthy’ condition if delivered earlier in light of his mother’s medical complications, an inquest has heard.
A jury of six men has returned a verdict of medical misadventure into the death of baby Noah O’SheaRodgers at Wexford General Hospital (WGH) on April 24, 2020.
Professor Fergal Malone, a former master of the Rotunda Maternity Hospital in Dublin, told Wexford Coroner’s Court that there was no doubt that baby Noah would have been born alive in ‘perfectly healthy’ condition if had been delivered earlier after his mother had demonstrated warning signs of severe preeclampsia the previous evening.
In a joint statement, the baby’s parents, Claire O’Shea and Shane Rodgers, said they had learned of her pregnancy shortly after they had become engaged in October 2019. ‘We could not have been happier,’ said Mr Rodgers.
The couple said they had alerted hospital staff that Ms O’Shea had a family history of preeclampsia, while she also had elevated blood pressure at antenatal appointments. They said they were extremely hurt and angry that a diagnosis of preeclampsia was only made late in her pregnancy.
‘We feel that if a diagnosis was made earlier and a plan put in place to manage the condition, Noah’s life may well have been saved,’ said Mr Rodgers.
He said that when his wife woke up in theatre and asked about Noah, a doctor replied rather abruptly: ‘He is dead, Claire’, before walking away.
‘This was already a very traumatic time for Claire and it was further compounded by the terrible attitude and choice of words used by the doctor,’ said Mr Rodgers. The couple added: ‘We have both suffered mentally and have required both individual and couple counselling to help deal with the consequences that Noah’s death had on us.’
They concluded: ‘Had Noah been cared for appropriately, he would have been delivered safely and the mental health issues we continue to suffer from would have been prevented.’
The couple, from Summerhill, Wexford, subsequently had another baby boy, called Shay.
Prof. Malone criticised a number of elements in the care of the baby’s mother at the hospital. This included a delay of 15 minutes in deciding to deliver the baby via an emergency Csection, as well as earlier missed opportunities to diagnose Ms O’Shea with preeclampsia and to manage the condition.
Preeclampsia is linked to high blood pressure which can pose a serious risk to both mother and baby. A postmortem showed the baby had died as a result of lack of oxygen from a severing of the placenta which was caused by his mother’s preeclampsia.
The consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist said it was obvious from a review of medical records that by April 10, 2020 or shortly thereafter that Ms O’Shea had preeclampsia. However, the inquest heard it was only confirmed on April 23, 2020 at WGH, although she had been treated for high blood pressure for around a month. Evidence was also heard that there was a delay of two days in confirming Ms O’Shea’s preeclampsia as certain laboratory tests could not be carried out at WGH.
The jury returned a verdict of medical misadventure and recommended that HSE guidelines on the diagnosis and treatment of preeclampsia be circulated to staff at WGH. Coroner Seán Nixon said the verdict did not blame or exonerate anyone for baby Noah’s death and he acknowledged it was a ‘very difficult and emotional’ day for both the parents and hospital staff.
A solicitor for the hospital, Peter Groarke, said staff had already been reminded about the guidelines on preeclampsia.
After the inquest, a solicitor for Noah’s parents, John Kelly, said his death was ‘an absolute tragedy’. He said the verdict raised awareness among the public and medical staff, remarking: ‘Perhaps a life could be saved and a child may have the chance of life. Tragically for Shane and Claire, Noah wasn’t given that chance.’ news@dailymail.ie