Midwife Andrea Walmsley broke down in court as she admitted to having taken notes on an incontinence pad during a tragic home birth which was followed by the deaths of the mum and baby
A midwife used an incontinence pad to take down critical notes during a home birth, after which the mum and baby died, an inquest has heard.
Jennifer Cahill, 34, died in hospital the day after she gave birth at the home she shared with her husband in Prestwich, Bury, Greater Manchester. Her newborn daughter Agnes died from hypoxia four days later, with attending midwife Andrea Walmsley telling an inquest at Rochdale Corner’s Court she had been born unresponsive.
Ms Walmsley was overwhelmed by “blind panic” when Agnes emerged not breathing. The baby had the umbilical cord around her neck, was covered in meconium – and the midwife had never resuscitated a baby before.
Manchester Evening News reports Ms Walmsley and a colleague arrived to attend the home birth on the evening of June 2, 2024. The inquest heard how, after around 4am on June 3, essential measurements – including the baby’s heart rate and the mother’s blood pressure – were not submitted to the electronic record meant to be filled in during the labour until the afternoon of that day.
Those values were only eventually recorded using ‘recollection’, as the measurements had largely not been written down over the final three hours of the long and difficult labour.
Breaking down in court, Ms Walmsley admitted the baby’s heart rate could have been incorrect in the records submitted hours later by “one or two beats”, explaining: “I can’t tell you what state we were in when we were doing these notes.” She told the court she noted heart rate values on a spare incontinence pad that was later cleared away.
The midwives were also measuring Mrs Cahill’s blood pressure as it appeared to rocket at around 4am, but no records or a follow-up blood pressure test appeared to have been made.
Ms Walmsley explained she and fellow midwife Julie Turner had to be with Mrs Cahill during the difficult labour, and could not spare a pair of hands to complete the electronic record.
A new electronic record-keeping system, named HIVE, had also just been introduced by Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, which operates North Manchester General Hospital where Mrs Cahill had been cared for during her pregnancy. The midwife wasn’t ‘au fait’ with the system, the court heard throughout today’s hearing.
The home birth scene descended into ‘absolute chaos’ at around 6.30am when Agnes was finally born not breathing, said the midwife. The midwives tried tactile resuscitation before moving onto using resuscitation equipment. But the equipment was ‘not really fit for purpose’, claimed Ms Walmsley, with the breathing mask not fitting Agnes.
The equipment had not been examined by the midwives before the emergency as there were sterile elements needing to be kept in sealed containers, admitted Ms Walmsley.
Rob Cahill, Jennifer’s husband, previously told the inquest how he had to dial 999 just after 6.45am on June 3. He went to the hospital with Agnes. But was told later that his wife was also being rushed to hospital after suffering complications giving birth.
Midwife Walmsley revealed that those complications had been a postpartum haemorrhage (PPH). Mrs Cahill had struggled to deliver her placenta, and when it emerged, she was hit with a ‘gush’ of blood.
The midwife says she and Ms Taylor declared by shouting ‘PPH’ a number of times, and they started preparing Mrs Cahill to go to hospital alongside paramedics. Ms Walmsley shared she had never dealt with a postpartum haemorrhage before in a home setting.
The exact cause of death for Mrs Cahill has not yet been heard.
The inquest continues.