By james art Freya Murphy died on July 28, 2018, in the neonatal intensive care unit at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, Glasgow, seven days after she was born in the maternity unit, an inquest at Glasgow Sheriff Court heard.
Her mother Karen Murphy, 32, was admitted to QEUH on July 20 with a pregnancy path change from green to red, indicating the level of risk had increased, the inquest heard.
Mrs Murphy, a teacher from Cambuslang, South Lanarkshire, was told to ‘push’ at around 6.30am on July 21 but needed help for ‘weak’ contractions and a cardiotocograph (CTG) showed a ‘profound slowing’ of the heart frequency of the fetus, the court heard.
Freya was born covered in “copious amounts of thick meconium” and received CPR, but died a week later. An autopsy gave her cause of death as global hypoxic ischemic brain injury associated with acute chorioamnionitis.
The Murphys questioned why the UK does not routinely test for group B strep, described as the “likely” cause of infection by neonatology expert Dr Michael Munro.
A midwife who helped deliver Freya said she had not been given written notes and was unaware that Ms Murphy had “weak fetal movements” or that meconium had been spotted on a maternity pad, it is said in the query.
Giving evidence, midwife Helen Kidd said Mrs Murphy’s contractions did not improve with an IV despite the dose being increased, and in a contemporaneous note written after the birth, Mrs Kidd claimed she was ‘not listened to” by the medics.
Mrs Kidd’s barrister Taylor Muir said: “Did you know during this period that Freya and Mrs Murphy were infected with group B strep?”
Mrs Kidd, 58, said: “No, we tested her urine to check for infection and there was nothing.”
Her written evidence said that at 8.20am she raised concerns with Dr Felicity Watson, but when asked by Mr Moore “if she took you seriously”, Ms Kidd said: “No”.
Mr Muir asked if Dr Marianne Ledingham “took you seriously” at 8.45am.
Mrs. Kidd said, “No. I trusted her. I believed it was due to the ward being very busy. What I do know is that the IV was not working for Mrs. Murphy as it should have been and I felt that something else was going on.
“Dr Watson didn’t listen to me when I tried to tell her about the contractions, I was falsely reassured. I felt like when I asked for help it was like I was wrong and they were right. I wrongly trusted them. I suffered a lot since then, it ruined my career.”
Mr Muir said: “Did you communicate your concerns to Dr Watson and Dr Ledingham?”
Mrs. Kidd said, “Yes. I did the best I could with the information I had. In retrospect, I would have done it very differently.
She said the birth was not “routine” and added: “I had never seen such a visible baby that had been there for such a long time.”
Ms Kidd said at 8.41am she called out in the corridor when there was a “profound sustained deceleration” and seven minutes later Dr Ledingham arrived but left to attend to another patient , the investigation revealed.
The midwife said just before 9am she had turned off the IV out of concern and pressed a buzzer for help, but the drip was resumed by paramedics, the court heard.
The Murphy family’s lawyer, Alan Rogers, said: “I just want to clarify what your position is – between 8.15am and 9.15am you told us you were concerned. These notes may form an opinion that you think this CTG is absolutely fine.
Ms Kidd said: “I think I was wrongly reassured by every doctor’s expert opinion that CTG was acceptable.”
Mr Rogers said: “Would it be fair to say that these notes reflect the views of the medical staff?”
Mrs Kidd said: “It reflects the advice I was given. A delay during contractions is often observed. Her contractions were so weak that she would immediately go back to nothing.
“They weren’t expulsive, they weren’t efficient. I didn’t understand why it was happening.”
Mr Rogers said an internal review found the CTG at around 8.20am was “pathological and warranted an urgent medical review”, the inquiry heard.
Clare Raftery, cross-examined by Dr Ledingham, said Mrs Kidd “added” to the notes on July 22, the day after Freya was born.
Ms Kidd said: “I was so traumatized I didn’t have time to take notes and the next day I managed to write anything.”
The FAI is proceeding before Sheriff Barry Divers.