Family says homebirth death was avoidable after medical misadventure verdict

The family of a woman who died during a homebirth said her death could have been prevented, highlighting care failings

The family of a woman who died after a homebirth said her tragic death was “avoidable” after a verdict of medical misadventure was returned at the inquest into her death on Wednesday.

Laura Liston, 36, died in June 2022 after giving birth to a baby boy at her home near Croom, Limerick, under the HSE homebirth service.

The HSE offered “a sincere and unreserved apology” to the Liston and Mannion families.

Ms Liston’s husband, Fergal Mannion, and other relatives, including her parents, issued a statement through their solicitor after the inquest.

“Laura dreamed of becoming a mother and raising a family with Fergal in her native Croom,” solicitor Scarlett Griffin O’ Sullivan said.

“To become a mother was all she ever wanted, maternal by nature, she was a beautiful woman inside and out.”

The statement continued: “She did her research and opted for a homebirth via the HSE service and trusted that she would be afforded basic antenatal care. Unfortunately there were deficits in that care, in particular following her son’s delivery. But for those failings Laura would still be alive today.”

The families stood silently behind her, and added in the statement: “This tragedy was avoidable and should never have happened."

The couple opted for a homebirth after undergoing IVF treatment abroad to conceive.

The families said: “This case is not about being pro or anti homebirth, this case has been about finding out the truth about what happened to Laura on that fateful night.” 

They called for “basic clinical standards and guidelines in maternity care” to be followed, saying these were lacking.

They welcomed the coroner’s recommendations and the HSE apology. However, they said of the apology: “it comes three and a half years since Laura died, and it is bittersweet as no words can ever replace a mother.”

The HSE apology was read by its barrister Oonah McCrane SC on behalf of Ian Carter, Integrated Healthcare Area Manager, Acute and Older Person Services with HSE Midwest.

He expressed “profound sadness” at the tragedy.

He offered “a sincere and unreserved apology” to the families for “the failings in the care provided to Laura during the delivery of her baby.”

In it he said: “we are truly sorry for the part these failings played in such a devastating outcome. You trusted that Laura would be safe and cared for at one of the most important moments of your lives, and that trust was broken.” 

He also said lessons have been learned and improvements have been put in place.

Coroner John McNamara noted the dignity shown by the family on this upsetting day.

The cause of death was haemorrhage and shock due to uterine inversion following the attempted delivery of the placenta.

He noted that the baby was born at 10.58pm, and Ms Liston then experienced a fainting episode, blood loss, and low blood pressure among other concerns.

An ambulance was called at 12.09am and she arrived at hospital at 1:16am. She had a heart attack in the ambulance and again on arrival.

He said he was satisfied her death occurred during medical treatment, describing it as “a tragic and rare event”. 

He said: “In these circumstances, the appropriate verdict is medical misadventure.”

He attached recommendations made internally by the HSE to his verdict and told the family: “She will not be forgotten.”

The inquest heard from Mr Mannion. The midwives, Sandra Healy and Sinead Murphy, also gave evidence, as did emergency services staff who did their best to save her.