A British woman passed away shortly after begging hospital staff not to “let [her] die” following the birth of her fifth child.
Multiple “basic failures by the healthcare professionals” are believed to have contributed to her death, according to a recently released report.
Laura-Jane Seaman, 36, suffered a peritoneal hemorrhage that did not go noticed by staff for hours, despite her telling them she was “gushing.”
Highlights
- Laura-Jane Seaman died not long after the birth of her fifth child in Essex, UK.
- The 36-year-old begged doctors to save her life, but the warning signs were allegedly ignored.
- “I have five babies at home. Please don’t let me die,” she said.
- “There were multiple missed opportunities” that could have potentially saved her life, a coroner report said.
Laura-Jane Seaman, 36, died two days after delivering her fifth child after pleading with the hospital staff not to let her die
Image credits: Laura-Jane Seaman
The mother was admitted to the Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford, Essex, on December 21, 2022, and gave birth to her baby without any complications. However, she then suffered a hemorrhage, the BBC reported.
Seaman was known to have a history of hemorrhages, and the Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust was aware that she was at high risk of postpartum hemorrhage, leading to heavy bleeding after birth.
Following the child’s birth, Seaman’s recovery initially appeared normal and she was able to breastfeed her newborn. Plans were even being made for her to be discharged and go home.
“We were going to have a McDonald's breakfast – that's what she did after the birth of every baby,” her mother, Sarah, told Sky News.
But within a couple of hours, her condition deteriorated and she asked the hospital staff, “Am I bleeding?”
The mother-of-five had a normal delivery, and her post-birth recovery initially appeared normal to healthcare professionals
Image credits: Anastasia_Makarevich / Pixabay (Representational image)
She complained about feeling dizzy and experiencing numbness in her limbs, but the medics attributed it to dehydration. When she lost consciousness, she was merely given a cookie and her complaints were allegedly not given enough attention.
“There were multiple missed opportunities to escalate and treat” the patient, a coroner report said.
The medics did not escalate the situation to the critical team when she had a maternal collapse because they categorized it as a “faint.”
“She at times was quite distressed, but at other times was calm. Just kept saying, saying ‘I’m not right. I feel like I'm gushing,’” Sarah said.
“I have five babies at home. Please don’t let me die,” the mother begged doctors
Image credits: Laura-Jane Seaman
The report noted that Seaman underwent heavy bleeding, but it went undetected because no examination of her abdomen was conducted.
Although a blood test was taken, the results were not chased soon enough, thus leading to the drop in her hemoglobin going undetected.
“Laura-Jane died as a consequence of basic failures by healthcare professionals to recognize and escalate her loss of consciousness as a maternal collapse with inability to obtain vital signs that was incorrectly attributed to malfunctioning equipment rather than obvious clinical deterioration had MEOWS [modified early obstetric warning scores] charts been utilized,” stated the report.
As the warning signs were allegedly ignored, Seaman begged the hospital staff not to let her die.
“I have five babies at home. Please don’t let me die,” she said.
“There were multiple missed opportunities to escalate and treat” the patient, a coroner report said
Image credits: Laura-Jane Seaman
Sarah recalled the final conversations her daughter had with her before passing away on December 23, 2022, due to complications from the intra-abdominal hemorrhage.
“She said, ‘Mum, I’m dying,’ and she told [the staff] so many times, ‘I’m dying. Help me,’” she said.
The deceased mother-of-five underwent emergency surgery after bleeding for hours. About four to five liters of blood in her abdomen was uncovered after the surgery.
The recently released coroner’s review is expected to inform the Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust on ways they can improve their maternity services. The trust is expected to respond with a timetable of actions by February 7, 2025, according to People.
The 36-year-old mother lost her life due to complications from the intra-abdominal hemorrhage
Image credits: sasint / Pixabay (Representational image)
Diane Sarkar, chief nursing and quality officer for Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust, said they were focusing on “improving training” to prevent such incidents from occurring again.
"We extend our sincerest sympathies and condolences to the family of Laura-Jane,” Diane said.
“Following investigations into the circumstances that led to her death, our focus has been on improving training in recognizing the early signs of deterioration and escalation routes in our maternity services to prevent this from happening again,” the statement continued.