A mother who tragically died along with her baby after opting for a home birth against medical advice insisted she wanted a completely natural labour, an inquest heard today.
Jennifer Cahill, 34, chose to deliver Agnes Lily at home after feeling ‘unsupported’ in hospital when she had her son three years earlier.
But the international export manager became ‘fatigued’ as her contractions intensified, and while both she and her newborn daughter were rushed to hospital, neither could be saved.
Mrs Cahill had specified that she did not want drugs to help her through labour, one of the midwives sent to assist the birth told an inquest today.
Andrea Walmsley said the mother-to-be – who suffered an ‘extremely stressful’ first pregnancy – even refused to have a urine test that would have helped with observations.
She told an inquest that she and fellow midwife Julie Turner were struck by how detailed Mrs Cahill’s personal birth plan was after attending her home in Prestwich, Greater Manchester in June last year.
‘To be honest it was the most intense birth plan I have ever read,’ she said.
‘I never said anything to Julie but I just looked at her because it concerned me.
Jennifer Cahill (right) delivered baby Agnes Lily at her home in the presence of her husband Rob (left) and two midwives in June last year
Jennifer Cahill, 34, and her newborn baby daughter Agnes Lily both died in June 2024 after she decided on a home birth having felt ‘unsupported’ when her son was delivered in hospital three years earlier
‘She did not want any observations, she did not want any drugs and she did not want any examinations.’
Mrs Cahill refused to have the drug Syntometrine, which would have helped the birth and prevented excessive bleeding, the hearing in Rochdale was told.
She could only have had oxytocin – which helps expel the placenta after birth – if she had been in hospital.
Ms Walmsley had helped with around 20 home births, but unlike Mrs Cahill’s, all of them were low risk.
She said her attempts to complete her observations were rebuffed by Mrs Cahill.
It did not help that the room – which contained a birthing pool and a birth ball – was very dimly lit by tea lights which made it difficult for taking blood pressure and other readings.
‘When I asked her for a urine sample she seemed not to like it and turned her back on me,’ the midwife said.
‘I thought I had overstepped the mark.
Mrs Cahill had suffered a postpartum haemorrhage after the first birth – a potentially fatal condition involving heavy bleeding – and was advised to have her second birth at hospital
‘I honestly felt that I would be thrown out if I said the wrong thing, but not having the urine sample niggled me.’
She agreed with coroner Joanne Kearsley that ‘the pendulum had swung too far’ in the way hospitals try and cater for women who want home births even if they are at high risk.
Mothers-to-be have a right to give birth at home, even if their pregnancy is deemed high risk.
But the hearing has been told that midwives had become ‘increasingly anxious’ about women in the riskiest category giving birth at home.
Mrs Cahill gave birth in the early hours of June 3 last year, but Agnes Lily was clearly in trouble and was rushed to North Manchester General Hospital accompanied by her father Rob.
Unbeknown to him, his wife was also seriously ill and had to be transported to the same hospital where she tragically died.
Agnes Lily survived for just short of four days.
Their cause of death has not yet been given at the hearing.
Jennifer Cahill (pictured with her baby son) specified that she did not want drugs to help her through labour when she delivered her daughter Agnes Lily, an inquest heard today
Jennifer Cahill (pictured with her husband Rob) should have been referred to a senior midwife who would have emphasised the risks involved in a home birth, the inquest has heard
It was told that Mrs Cahill was let down by Manchester Foundation Trust, especially over the absence of an agreed birth plan once it was clear she was determined to have the baby at home.
The trust has accepted that she should have been referred to a senior midwife who would have emphasised the risks involved.
When she went into labour, Mrs Cahill was given gas and air from equipment that did not work properly, the inquest has heard.
According to her husband ‘it fatigued her and she lost her confidence’.
Mr Cahill had earlier told the hearing that his wife wanted a home birth because her first birth had been stressful and she did not want to repeat the experience.
She had suffered a postpartum haemorrhage when her baby boy was born in 2021 and also developed Streptococcus B while her child contracted sepsis.
All three events led medical staff to advise her to have a hospital delivery with her second child so that intervention such as administering drugs or urgent medical care could be carried out without delay.
Today coroner Ms Kearsley questioned why hospital staff were reluctant to use the word ‘death’ when warning pregnant women of the dangers of home birth which would underline the seriousness of their decision.
After being delivered at their home in Prestwich, baby Agnes was rushed to North Manchester General Hospital where both she and her mother Jennifer, 34, tragically died
Dr Azel El Adwan, a stage 5 obstetrics and gynaecology specialist trainee who saw Mrs Cahill, admitted it was accepted practice not to use the word so as not to ‘upset’ pregnant mothers.
She said ‘We do not usually talk about the risk of death. It is not standard practice because it is extremely rare.
‘I have reflected on this and I have asked colleagues and we all agree we would not usually say that word.’
Dr El Adwan said she warned Mrs Cahill that a hospital delivery would be far safer because of what happened during her first pregnancy.
But she added: ‘We cannot persuade a patient who has a firm opinion on what they want but we do need to discuss the risks.
‘We do not want them to feel they are being forced to do something they don’t want to do.’
She said there appeared to be a rise in women wanting home births because of what they read on the internet.
She added: ‘Women are affected by social media and from what they hear from other people.’
The hearing continues.
