A midwife who broke down in tears at the inquest of a baby who was delivered “blue and floppy” said an ambulance should have been called almost an hour-and-a-half before the birth.
Poppy Hope Lomas was seven days old when she died on 26 October 2022 following complications during a “high-risk” home birth that her mother said she was encouraged to have.
Barnet Coroner’s Court had previously heard Poppy’s mother Gemma Lomas, from Enfield, north London, was not made aware of the risks involved with delivering naturally in her home, having already delivered her first daughter, Willow, by caesarean in 2018.
Midwife Sasha Field, who was present at Poppy’s birth, said in her written statement, which was read out to the inquest by senior coroner Andrew Walker, that an ambulance should have been called around 90 minutes before Poppy was born when she heard the baby’s heart rate slow down after a contraction, as a report by the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch had found.
In fact, midwives told Jason Lomas, Poppy’s father, to call an ambulance at around 10.37pm, two minutes after she was born, by which time it was clear she was showing no signs of life, Ms Field said in her statement.
Mr Walker suggested to Ms Field that Ms Lomas should never have been made to deliver her baby at home.
Speaking after Ms Field gave evidence on Tuesday, Mr Walker said: “There is an argument you shouldn’t have been put in a position to deliver a high-risk birth without the necessary equipment available at hospital.”
“You did the best you could in the circumstances,” he said.
Vaginal births after Caesarean (VBACs) should be conducted in a “suitably staffed and equipped delivery suite” and “with resources available for immediate caesarean delivery”, according to guidance from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.
On Monday, Ms Lomas told the inquest that Alice Boardman – who was head midwife at Edgware Midwives, the designated home birth team at Barnet Hospital, which is part of the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust and also present at the birth – actively encouraged her to have a VBAC at home.
Ms Lomas also claimed that midwives were slow to respond after her baby was born with “blood coming out of her mouth”.
“The midwife placed Poppy on my chest and said, ‘There’s your baby’,” Ms Lomas said in the statement.
“Poppy was blue and floppy. There was blood coming out of her mouth and her head fell back. That’s a horrific memory that sticks in my mind, being handed my dead baby.”
Mr Walker adjourned the inquest until Wednesday, when evidence is expected from Dr Giles Kendall, the consultant neonatologist who treated Poppy when she was transferred to University College Hospital, London.
