A senior coroner has issued a stark warning that more pregnant women could die unless urgent action is taken to improve the safety of home births. This follows the tragic death of a mother and her newborn baby after a home delivery in Manchester last year.
A Tragic Outcome
Jennifer Cahill, 34, died on June 3, 2024, shortly after giving birth to her daughter, Agnes Lily Wren Cahill, at her home. The mum-of-two was transferred to North Manchester General Hospital, where she passed away. Her newborn daughter, Agnes, tragically died at the same hospital just a few days later.
An inquest into their deaths, which concluded last month, found that both mother and baby died as a result of complications during the delivery. Ms Cahill had reportedly opted for a home birth after experiencing complications, including a post-partum haemorrhage, during her first hospital delivery.
"Not an Informed Decision"
Joanne Kearsley, the senior coroner for Manchester North, delivered a powerful conclusion. She stated that Jennifer Cahill had "not made an informed decision to have a home birth." Ms Kearsley found that if the mother had been given all the relevant information about the risks, it was "more likely than not she would have given birth in an alternative setting," such as a hospital.
The coroner stated that this different choice could have led to both Jennifer and her baby Agnes surviving. The inquest also formally recorded that the events leading to their deaths were contributed to by "neglect."
A Call for National Action
In response to the tragedy, Coroner Kearsley issued a Prevention of Future Deaths report. This report highlights several critical failings in the current system for home births across the country.
The key concerns identified include:
- No national guidance specifically governing home births.
- A lack of national standards for the staffing, training, and experience of midwives providing home birth care.
- An increasing number of women with high-risk pregnancies requesting home births, where emergency interventions cannot be performed or would be significantly delayed.
- No robust framework for midwives supporting home birth care, leading to inconsistent practice.
- A failure to properly discuss the risk of death with women considering a home birth.
The coroner's report warns that without a consistent and safe national framework, the risk of future maternal and newborn deaths remains unacceptably high.
