Death of three-day-old baby ‘avoidable’, coroner rules

The death of a three-day-old baby could have been avoided if medical professionals had acted differently, a coroner concluded.

Rosanna Matthews died three days after being delivered at Tunbridge Wells Hospital in Kent in November 2020.

The hospital trust apologised, saying the level of care for Ms Sala and her daughter “fell short of standards”.

Ms Sala told the inquest midwives were "bickering" and appeared confused during her labour.

She claimed that if she had been allowed to start pushing when she wanted to, instead of waiting as midwives advised, Rosanna would have lived.

Rachel Thomas, then deputy head of gynaecology and midwifery, said there had been "errors in communication".

Following the conclusion of the inquest, the coroner ruled Rosanna died following a “prolonged period of avoidable hypoxia”, which led to brain damage.

The coroner, sitting in Maidstone, also found midwives at the hospital failed to recognise that Rosanna was already unwell with congenital pneumonia.

Ms Sala said her daughter could have lived had medical professionals acted differently on the day of her birth.

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Source: BBC News, 8 November 2022