Mother of baby who died at Telford Hospital after 12 hours was considered 'low-risk', inquest hears
A mother of a baby who died less than 12 hours after being born at Princess Royal Hospital in Telford, did not give her consent to have the baby's heart rate monitored, an inquest has heard.
In the second day of the inquest into the death of Poppy Mary Isabella Russell, who died of hypoxia (lack of oxygen in the blood) at the PRH on April 11, 2021, Shropshire corner John Ellery was told that the mother of Poppy, Kathryn Russell was considered "low risk" by hospital staff.
The inquest, at Shirehall in Shrewsbury, heard on Tuesday from obstetrician and registrar Dr Marwa Mohamed, who saw Mrs Russell on the antenatal ward.
She told the coroner that Mrs Russell, who is from Rodington, near Shrewsbury, was admitted to the PRH for induced labour on April 10 - which was 12 days after her due date.
She said the expectant mother was suffering from tokophobia - an extreme fear and anxiety over giving birth - and that she had requested a water birth but had initially wanted a caesarian.
Dr Mohamed said along with ward manager Lorna Gunstone, the pair explained the policy at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) hospital over water births for mothers that have been induced and that Mrs Russell could still be considered.
She said: "We explained the induction process and water birth exclusion and inclusion criteria. Her [Mrs Russell's] understanding was she was not suitable for water birth if she was having an induction.
"We said she could [have a water birth] unless she required oxytosis infusion [a particular form of induction].
"We explained that we could also not guarantee a water birth if there were any concerns with the baby and she would have to come out of the pool if there were. She was anxious and said she did not want to deliver on 'dry land'."
Dr Mohamed said she explained to Mrs Russell that she could request a caesarian section at any time of stop the induction if she wanted to.
"Kathryn required a lot reassurances but was happy with the discussion and agreed to proceed with the induction as planned," said Dr Mohamed.
She added: "We discussed that she would have a CTG (cardiotocography). She already had one just before we saw her and she would have one every six hours so that we would keep an eye on baby regularly."
Rebecca Sharrock, a solicitor representing SaTH, asked the doctor if she was aware of any risks to the baby.
Dr Mohamed replied: "It said in my handover that she was a low-risk birth but she [Mrs Russell] would need a lot of reassurance, but I saw no issues with the baby."
"Would you have expected her to have a CTG once regular contractions started?" asked Ms Sharrock.
"Yes, once contractions have started or when she entered the labour ward, a CTG would be offered," replied Dr Mohamed.
Earlier in the inquest, Kathryn Russell had denied refusing a CTG, but on Tuesday, midwife Catherine Napper told the coroner that the expectant mother gave a "categorical lack of consent" to have the procedure.
"I introduced myself to Kathryn and Neil and I asked if I could monitor the foetal heart rate," she said, adding that Mrs Russell gave "no response" and that "normally" pregnant women would put their arms to the side to allow access for the CTG, but Mrs Russell would not move her arms.
"There was a categorical lack of consent," she said.
Not having received consent for a CTG, Ms Napper said she monitored the baby's heart using an Intermittent Auscultation (IA) Doppler device, and noticed a drop in the baby's heart rate.
But she said that she believed it to be "an initial recording error" or due to the position of the mother-to-be, adding she was confident it was not a "deceleration" of the heart rate, as the heart rate climbed up again.
The inquest continues.
