Couple’s plan for idyllic birth turns to tragedy

A couple who prepared for what they hoped would be an idyllic home birth experienced a nightmare instead, an inquest has heard.

After the foetal heartbeat began to diminish, the planned home birth of baby Kai David Williams Henaghan, at Kilsallagh, Westport, Co Mayo, was abandoned and the infant’s mother, Sarah Williams, was rushed to Mayo General Hospital, 22km away.

Not long afterwards, Kai was stillborn, the inquest was told.

The midwife involved on May 24, 2011, was Christina Engel from Ballinrobe, who had worked in New Zealand both as a tutor and working midwife for many years before returning to work in Mayo.

Ms Williams showed signs of distress during the opening day of the inquest, which is being conducted by the coroner for south Mayo at Castlebar Courthouse. She said Ms Engel told her she “had delivered many, many, babies”. The price to be charged for the home delivery was €1,000.

Ms Williams said she told Ann Boland, director of nursing in Castlebar, who wrote back and confirmed it was okay to have a home birth, providing no complications arise during the rest of the pregnancy.

On May 23, 2011, Ms Williams awoke with abdominal cramps. Ms Engel arrived around 11.30am. She came again at around 6pm, and again at 10.30pm. Ms Engel told her she could see “the top of the child’s head, his black hair”.

At around 12am, she said to the midwife that she felt it was taking too long and just after 1am she said she could not get him out.

The midwife told her to push harder, but around 1.30am, the baby’s heartbeat had changed and she could not get a reading. Emmet Henaghan, Ms Williams’ partner, suggested it was time she go to the hospital and the midwife agreed.

However, the midwife’s car would not start and they had to transfer oxygen into Mr Henaghan’s car. The three of them drove to the hospital in his car.

By the time they got to the delivery suite, it was 3am. Staff did an ultrasound on the baby and could not get a reading. The baby was stillborn at 3.23am.

“They put him on my chest for a second or two before they cut the cord,” said Ms Williams. “They started trying to resuscitate him. He had quite a good colour. They worked on him for 29 minutes... They took Emmett out of the room and told him Kai was dead. They then came back and told me. They told me it wasn’t my fault and that I was not to blame myself and that sometimes these things happen in the hospital too.”

Ms Williams said she never received any documentation or correspondence from the midwife. She never gave her any copies of any protocols or details of any emergency plan or any risk assessment document.

“Ms Engel should have made the call to go to the hospital at least half an hour before they ended up going to the hospital,” she said.

A witness said that, in the hospital after it was clear Kai had died, Ms Engel said she would never do a home birth again as long as she lived and kept saying: “I am so sorry, I am so sorry.”

Mr Henaghan described the scene before the complications arose to the court. “We dimmed the blinds, lit some candles,” he said. “Sarah put on her music choice, acoustic sounds. As her contractions were intensifying she decided to get into the birthing pool.”

He said that, at 10.20pm, Ms Engel, in an encouraging manner, said she could see the baby’s “lovely dark head of hair”. He had texted his mother to say “any minute now”.

From there on the labour intensified, with Ms Engel saying she saw the baby’s head but it would retract and show and retract. This went on until 2.15am.

In evidence yesterday, Ms. Engel denied saying she would never do another home birth, and also denied being reluctant to transfer her patient to hospital.

The hearing continues.