A Co. Laois mother has told an inquest about the difficult circumstances of her labour as she appeals for a review into the death of her baby boy.
Marie Butler’s waters broke on February 14, 2013 and she was admitted into the Coombe Hospital that evening. After labouring all night, she was placed on a drip to help speed up the birth:
“I was pushing and pushing for what seemed like an eternity,” she recalled “but nothing was happening. I remember the midwife scolding me for shouting.”
“I asked my husband what was taking so long, and had they got the baby out yet.
Marie Butler and Eoin Byrne’s son Darragh was born on February 15, 2013.
“Eoin didn’t say anything and I was so out of it that I had no cause for concern. Little did I know that Darragh had been taken from me a navy blue colour and non-responsive. Darragh was being resuscitated clinging for his life and I had no idea.” Ms Butler continued.
The couple struggled to get information about their 5lb 15oz baby boy and were only told he was “very sick” and unlikely “to make it”.
“No words can describe the feeling of being told your baby might not survive. I eventually got to see my son at 10pm that night.” she said.
The infant lost his fight for life five days later. Dublin’s Coroner’s Court heard that the couple only received a letter from the hospital acknowledging “failings” surrounding Darragh’s care in the past week.
David Holland SC said the fact that the hospital had failed to carry out a review into the death of baby Darragh was an “extraordinary omission”.
Lawyers for the family will argue that the oxytocin given to Ms. Butler to speed up her labour may have interfered with the transfer of oxygen to the foetus and should have been monitored more carefully.
The hearing continues.
Image: Stock library
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