A mother and her newborn baby tragically lost their lives during a home birth due to what a coroner deemed as “neglect,” “catastrophic error,” and “gross failures in providing basic care.”
Jennifer Cahill, aged 34, passed away in the hospital on June 3, 2024, one day after delivering her second child, Agnes, at their residence in Prestwich, Bury, located in Greater Manchester. Sadly, baby Agnes also succumbed in the hospital four days later.
Following a two-week inquiry into the fatalities, the coroner concluded that the family faced a tragedy akin to an event from the Victorian era unfolding in modern times.
Both mother and baby were rushed to the hospital separately due to various complications. Agnes was born without breath, with the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck. Shortly after, Mrs. Cahill began losing an estimated two liters of blood, as reported by Manchester Evening News.
The pathologist, providing evidence on October 17, attributed Mrs. Cahill’s demise to multi-organ failure resulting from a postpartum hemorrhage-induced cardiac arrest. Agnes passed away due to multi-organ failure following hypoxia caused by umbilical cord compression.
During the inquest at Rochdale Coroners’ Court, Coroner Joanne Kearsley’s findings highlighted significant failures in the antenatal care provided to Mrs. Cahill and the care received by both mother and Agnes during childbirth.
Ms. Kearsley pointed out a critical oversight where the essential birth plan, which should have been completed for a home birth, was neglected. This document could have facilitated a more precise assessment of the risks, identified potential hazards, and explored Mrs. Cahill’s decision for a home birth.
The coroner criticized the lack of thoroughness in Mrs. Cahill’s antenatal care, labeling it as perfunctory and devoid of necessary inquiries. Additionally, she emphasized the failure to conduct heart rate checks on Agnes every five minutes during labor, which would have detected the baby’s struggle for breath due to the cord around her neck for about an hour before birth.
Neglect was identified as a contributing element in the tragic deaths of both Agnes and Mrs. Cahill.