The family of Yaszmin Simpson, a 29-year-old first-time mother who died during childbirth, is demanding answers. Ms Simpson suffered a fatal cardiac arrest after an emergency C-section at King's College Hospital. Her newborn daughter, who has not been named, survived the procedure.
Three hospital visits before death
Ms Simpson, a recruitment consultant from Welling, south east London, attended hospital on three occasions over a 12-day period during the final weeks of her pregnancy after experiencing bleeding and fluid loss. She first attended Princess Royal University Hospital in Orpington on 6 October 2022, reporting bleeding and fluid loss. She was diagnosed with pre-labour rupture of membranes, a condition where a woman's waters break before labour begins.
On October 8, after experiencing further bleeding, she attended King's College Hospital, where she was admitted for five days. She was discharged home on October 13 with arrangements for a follow-up appointment the following week and plans for delivery by C-section at 35 weeks.
Emergency C-section and cardiac arrest
She returned to King's College Hospital on October 17 after experiencing abdominal pain and further fluid loss. Plans were initially made for a Category 2 C-section after Ms Simpson suffered a third episode of bleeding. The procedure was later escalated to a Category 1 emergency C-section. During preparations for surgery, Ms Simpson suffered a cardiac arrest and died the following morning. Her baby daughter was not injured.
Family seeks answers at inquest
An inquest is due to start at London Inner South Coroner's Court on Tuesday and is expected to last up to four days. Ahead of the hearing, Ms Simpson's family have instructed specialist medical negligence lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to support them through the process.
Her mother, Michelle Simpson, said: “What should have been one of the happiest days of our lives became the day we lost Yaszmin. Instead of celebrating her becoming a mum, we had to say goodbye to her. Yaszmin was our precious daughter and becoming a mum was something she had dreamed about for a long time. She had spent months preparing for the birth and was so excited to finally meet her baby girl.”
She added: “Yaszmin was only weeks away from her 30th birthday and was always smiling, full of energy and excited about the future. She was creative, ambitious and independent. Alongside her career as a recruitment consultant, she had built her own personalised design business and was incredibly proud of everything she had achieved. It is almost impossible to put into words the pain of losing Yaszmin while living with so many unanswered questions. Whilst we know nothing can bring Yaszmin back, we hope the inquest will help us better understand what happened and provide the answers that she and our family deserve.”
Charlotte Johnson, the specialist medical negligence lawyer at Irwin Mitchell representing the family, said: “Yaszmin's death has had a devastating impact on her loved ones, who continue to struggle to come to terms with losing her at such a young age. Understandably, they have a number of questions regarding the events leading up to her death and how what should have been such a joyous time for Yaszmin and her family ended in tragedy. While nothing can change what happened, the inquest represents an important opportunity to establish the facts and help the family gain a better understanding of the circumstances surrounding Yaszmin's death and whether there are lessons to be learned to improve patient safety and help prevent other families from experiencing a similar loss.”
Ms Simpson is also survived by her father Roy, sister Karla and her brother Wayne.
