Britt Jones
The cause of death of a young British mom has been revealed after she and her newborn passed away shortly after the at-home birth.
Jennifer Cahill, 34, gave birth in her Prestwich, UK, home, which ended in the death of her and daughter Agnes in June 2024.
An inquest into the circumstances surrounding her death has been heard in Rochdale Coroner’s Court on Friday (October 17).
Sadly, Jennifer died the day after she gave birth, and Agnes, who she never got to hold, died four days later.
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A community midwife revealed the mom was 'very keen' on a home birth and that her plan was 'the most intense' files she'd 'ever read,' the Manchester Evening News reports.
The midwife, Andrea Walmsley, told the court on October 14, that she and her colleague Julie Tuner were called to Jennifer's home on June 2 and found her in a 'very dim' room.
She said to coroner Joanne Kearsley: "When I asked for a urine sample, it was almost like she didn't like what I was saying."
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According to her, the mom refused drugs to assist through the labour, and that: "She did not want any observations, she did not want any drugs and she did not want any examinations."
Walmsley claimed Jennifer was 'very quiet' and mostly spoke to her husband, Rob Cahill, during the birth.
When she was asked why she hadn’t been more firm with Jennifer during the birth, Walmsley said: "We're well aware of the complaints that have been going around about us, and I think that's why it is the way it is."
Jennifer was said to have had suffered a traumatic birth at a hospital with her son, years prior, where she lost 800ml of blood due to an emergency episiotomy, while her son contracted sepsis.
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Because of her past history with losing blood, she was labeled high-risk, and was reportedly advised against a home-birth.
Dr Azal El-Adwan, a trainee obstetrician who Jennifer had been referred, and met with her in March 2024.
She told the court Jennifer 'was keen to have a home birth' and she spoke of her birth plan.
When Dr El-Adwan was asked why she didn’t talk to Jennifer about the death risk, she said it wasn't 'standard practice' because of the low risk, and believed the mom understood the risks involved.
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Pathologist Lisa Barker went on to reveal Jennifer’s cause of death and spoke to the court via videolink.
During a post-mortem examination on Jennifer, Dr Baker told the court that in her 20 years as a pathologist she had 'gradually built up quite an extensive experience with maternal deaths'.
She explained that she had found fluid in Jennifer's chest, lungs and kidneys, which is 'consistent with multi-organ failure'.
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The doctor went on to share that there was a three-centimetre tear in Jennifer's vagina due to the birth.
Ultimately, she concluded that Jennifer died due to 'multi-organ failure due to cardiac arrest, due to postpartum haemorrhage'.
It was revealed in court that Jennifer had asked for advice on a home birth support Facebook group prior to her delivery.
Senior paramedic Sean Scroop, paramedic Adrian George, and emergency medical technician (EMT) Leah Brennan took to the stand to explain how they found the mom at her home, after an ambulance was called due to Agnes being unresponsive.
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Scroop revealed he assisted community midwife Taylor with attempting to resuscitate Agnes.
He shared he had a 'look' at Jennifer who was a 'good color' at the time.
However, unbeknownst to anyone, Jennifer had begun bleeding minutes after they had left with the baby in an ambulance.
However, she began to 'deteriorate' became 'agitated' and 'lethargic', before losing consciousness.
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She had lost blood when delivering her placenta, which amounted to approximately 'two litres of blood'.
Allegedly, Jennifer wanted to be left alone and refused observations.
Brennan said: "She looked OK. She was a good color. She was engaging with us as much as she wanted to. She looked like a woman who had just given birth, that's the best way to describe it. But not acutely unwell."
The inquest will resume next week.