Baby dies 4 months after dad killed by heart attack
Mum ‘left alone’ before birth
Little Stevie Cullivan Varadkar and Macron yesterday A MOTHER told yesterday of her agony at the death of her baby – four months after a heart attack killed her husband.
Stevie Cullivan, named after his late dad, died just two days after he was born.
His mum Sandra, 38, told an inquest yesterday: “Stevie was my last chance to have a baby with Stephen. I am completely and utterly devastated.”
Ms Cullivan went into Mullingar Regional Hospital in Co Westmeath to be induced on April 28, 2015.
Stevie was born at 11.59pm but died on April 30. Dublin Coroner’s Court heard he was treated as “precious” due to the recent loss of his dad.
Ms Cullivan was allocated a private room in the post-natal ward and her mother was to attend as her birthing partner. However, she had been told to go home by staff as there was nothing happening.
At 10pm Ms Cullivan was given pethidine for pain relief. A CTG scan found the baby’s heartbeat was normal.
She was not deemed to be in labour at this point. The midwife assigned to her was busy with three other patients and entrusted Ms Cullivan’s care to her colleagues.
During this 90-minute period, Ms Cullivan was left alone in the room with the doors closed. She was having contractions and became concerned but said she could not reach the call bell.
She said: “I was very afraid for our baby. I shouted out for help and I was eventually heard and a nurse came in.”
Ms Cullivan added there was “urgency” in the midwife’s voice when she examined her. The baby’s head was low in the birth canal and birth was imminent. Another midwife was called in and Ms Cullivan was brought to the labour ward at 11.40pm.
CTG monitoring of the baby’s heartbeat returned an abnormal result before Stevie was born.
Ms Cullivan said: “He wasn’t crying. I kept asking why he wasn’t crying. It was obvious Stevie wasn’t going to be OK.
“I feel devastated that I was left for so long and nobody came near me. I looked after this baby for 40 weeks. I put my faith in this hospital.”
The inquest continues today.
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