Coroner Praises Parents For Their Bravery

The parents of a baby boy, who died when he was six weeks old following complications during labour, have spoken of their hope that no parents will have to go through what they have following the tragic death.

Sarah Reed, 30 from Acklam, gave birth to her son, Noah Finn, at James Cook University Hospital on 6th January, 2016, following a forceps delivery. After his birth, it was clear that Noah was unwell as he was unable to breathe for himself.

Noah was transferred to the neonatal intensive care unit and put onto a ventilator. He remained on the ventilator until 17th February, 2016, when he passed away.

Following Noah’s death, Sarah instructed specialist medical negligence lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to investigate the circumstances surrounding his death and help her gain answers regarding whether it could have been prevented.  

Now a two-day inquest into Noah’s death at Teesside Coroner’s Court, Middlesbrough Town Hall heard evidence that during Noah’s labour an attempt to manually rotate his head failed, leading to a forceps delivery. 

Once Noah was delivered, damage to his spinal cord was found meaning he was unable to use his diaphragm to inflate his lungs, hence his breathing issues.

After hearing all the evidence, Teesside senior coroner, Claire Bailey, gave a narrative verdict that Noah died of rare complications of Keillands forceps delivery. Ms Bailey also praised Sarah, and Noah’s father, Martyn Finn, for their bravery and courage.

Mental health nurse Sarah, who has been with Martyn, a healthcare assistant, for 5 years, said: “We are still, and will forever remain, heartbroken at losing Noah.

“Through my pregnancy I was told I was low risk. Noah was very active right up until delivery and all signs pointed towards a healthy baby being born. However the labour was very distressing and I knew something wasn’t right. Due to Noah’s positioning during labour I was told not to push but it felt like I was going against my body by not pushing.

“Whilst this inquest has brought both Martyn and I some answers, it unfortunately remains a mystery to us how he came to suffer such catastrophic injuries. We will continue to seek, and hope for, an explanation for this in the future.

“While we appreciate the rarity of this incident we hope that no family has to suffer like we have.”

The inquest heard that Noah was born with brain damage, a dissected right carotid artery and a damaged spinal cord. It was heard at the inquest that there was a 1 in 80,000 chance that injuries like this could occur in a forceps birth like Noah had.

The inquest also heard that since Noah’s death, the South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust had improved its training regime for these kind of deliveries.

Michael Scobie, a specialist medical negligence solicitor at Irwin Mitchell representing Noah’s family, said: “The loss of Noah has been devastating for Sarah, Martyn and their families.

“We welcome the fact the since Noah’s death the Trust has taken steps to further improve their maternity service following an investigation into this case.

“Of course, this sadly comes all too late for Sarah and Martyn but we will continue to work with them to ensure they get the support they need.” 

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