Man whose sister died in Cork hospital 'does not want to see others go through same pain'
Geraldine Yankeu, a Cameroonian woman who died after the stillbirth of her daughter. Picture: Forevermissed.com
The brother of a Cameroonian woman who died after childbirth in Cork will attend an event in Dublin this month, highlighting maternal deaths.
Geraldine Yankeu, aged 31 died at Cork University Maternity Hospital in August 2021, following the birth of her stillborn daughter Mary. Both were taken to Geraldine’s native Cameroon for burial.
On March 24 her brother Romuald will travel from Germany to attend the Picking Up the Threads from the European Parliament event in Europe House in Dublin. Among the speakers will be MEP Clare Daly, who introduced a private members bill in the Dáil in 2015 to make inquests into maternal deaths mandatory.
Also speaking will be a number of solicitors and barristers who will give their views on how the subsequent 2019 Coroners Act, which made inquests mandatory for maternal deaths, has impacted current and recent maternal death inquests.
It follows an exhibition in Brussels in January, called Picking Up the Threads: Remaking the Fabric of Care. Both have been organised by the Elective Collective and Clare Daly.
Romuald said he is travelling to Dublin for the event in the hope that meeting people who have lost a loved one in the same situation could be part of a healing process for him.
He said the promotion of good “health along the whole continuum of pregnancy, childbirth, and postnatal care is crucial for a society”.
He commended the Elephant Collective for its “initiative and devotion” to improving the system regarding maternal deaths.
“I believe such an exhibition can create more awareness and contribute in the long term to an improvement of the system," he said.
“I do not want to see other people going through the same pain.”
Dr Jo Murphy-Lawless of the Elephant Collective said: “Each and every inquest reveals how broken the system of care is.”
Between 2007 and 2021, 13 inquests on maternal deaths have been held in Ireland. Six women whose deaths were examined in these inquests were women of colour.
The inquest relating to the death of Geraldine Yankeu will take place at Cork City Coroner’s Court in April.
Zimbabwean woman Tatenda Mukwata died at University Hospital Kerry on April 21 after giving birth to a healthy daughter. Ms Mukwata was a resident at the Atlantic Lodge direct provision centre in Kenmare and had been granted permission to stay in Ireland shortly before she died.
Less than two months after Ms Mukwata’s death, Limerick woman Laura Liston died in hospital after giving birth at her home.
Inquests into their deaths have not yet taken place.
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