Tragic Telford mother died giving birth
A mother bled to death during childbirth after suffering a rare pregnancy complication that could not have been foreseen, a coroner has ruled.
Lawyers for the family of Diane Claire Willis claimed staff at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital had contributed to her death by failing to monitor her condition.
But coroner for Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin, John Ellery, yesterday returned a verdict of death by natural causes, saying: "I find no gross neglect or gross failure to provide medical attention."
An inquest at Wellington Civic Centre heard the 30-year-old mother from Telford suffered aortic dissection, a tear in the artery which takes blood away from the heart.
The complication is so rare that it has killed only between five and seven women in the UK in the last three years, the inquest was told.
Mrs Willis suffered a fatal heart attack on the operating table as her son Joshua was delivered by emergency caesarian section on October 25. Her son survived but suffered severe brain damage and may need 24-hour care for the rest of his life.
Mrs Willis, who was already mother to Piper, now eight, and Phoebe, now four, had her labour induced at the hospital on October 23 but collapsed in the grounds two days later.
Dr Adrian Yuung, a consultant gynaecological pathologist who performed a post mortem on Mrs Willis, said it was a natural death.
Mrs Willis's husband Christopher, a security officer, said:
"I will never get over it but I have to stay strong because our three children now rely on me for everything."
