Teen mum, 17, who died after giving birth to larger than expected baby ‘should have been induced weeks before’
A TEEN mum who died giving birth should have been offered to be induced weeks before, an inquest heard. Teegan Barnard lost almost four litres of blood when she gave birth to her nine pounds and nine ounce baby via caesarean section in 2019. The 17-year-old experienced an obstruction during labour with the “larger than […]
A TEEN mum who died giving birth should have been offered to be induced weeks before, an inquest heard.
Teegan Barnard lost almost four litres of blood when she gave birth to her nine pounds and nine ounce baby via caesarean section in 2019.
The 17-year-old experienced an obstruction during labour with the “larger than expected” baby, which is when the child cannot exit the pelvis.
Within two hours of giving birth to son, Parker, the 17 year old’s condition dramatically worsened, and her “lips turned blue” as she suffered breathing issues.
The mum had suffered a devastating cardiac arrest and brain damage during the complicated labour at St Richard’s Hospital in Chichester, West Sussex, on September 7, 2019, and died at her home in Havant, Hants, four weeks later.
Today, an inquest was told that under NHS guidelines, Teegan could have been offered induced labour at 38 weeks – three weeks before she eventually gave birth – but was not.
Investigators from the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) said it would have been “best practice” and “appropriate” for health workers to offer Teegan an induced labour, where a mother is given drugs to help kickstart a birth.
Instead, Teegan’s baby son grew in size and “in retrospect it would have contributed to the risk of Postpartum haemorrhage”, investigators said.
Debbie Laing, maternity investigations team leader at HSIB, said the baby “would have been smaller” if Teegan had been offered, and agreed, to induce labour at 38 weeks.
“That’s the only thing that may have had a causal affect on the outcome”, she said.
She added: “The significance is that the baby had an opportunity to grow and increase the risk of Postpartum haemorrhaging.
“We are able to say it would have been best practice to offer the induction earlier.”
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But Ms Laing added it was ”unpredictable” that Teegan would suffer Postpartum haemorrhaging.
Lawyer Adam Walker, representing Teegan’s family, suggested that, at 38 weeks, it would have been “foreseeable” that the baby would have been greater than 4kg.
And midwife Sally Walters, who cared for Teegan from eight weeks, said: “When I was looking after her I was not expecting a big baby.”
HSIB said it made a safety recommendation to ensure induction of labour is offered appropriately.
The inquest also heard Teegan may have had an underlying infection which contributed to a raised temperature and may have suffered anaphylaxis during childbirth.
Teegan vomited at 11pm on September 8, 2019, shortly before her labour in the early hours of September 9, and her pulse raised to 119 beats per minute.
The teenager – who was pictured cradling her newborn in hospital in what are her tragic last photos – was looking forward to becoming a parent and would have been a “fantastic mother”, her family said.
“Teegan had a big personality and was full of life”, her mother Abbie Hallawell said.
She added: “Teegan and the rest of the family were delighted when she fell pregnant. She was really looking forward to becoming a parent and she would have been an absolutely fantastic mum.
“It still doesn’t seem real that what should have been the best day in Teegan’s life ended tragically and left all of our family changed forever.
“It’s been more than two years since Teegan died, but time has stood still for all our family.
“Teegan would have been so proud of Parker and how he’s such a happy baby who’s developing every day.
“While he’ll grow up without his mum in his life, he will always be told how much Teegan loved him, and how she’ll always be a part of our family.”
Teegan’s parents are bringing up Parker – who is now two – alongside his dad, Leon Forster.
