Inquest told midwife who 'brainwashed' woman into having home birth made a series of errors that led to mother's death

Inquest hears midwife 'tugged' placenta out with great force

Midwife reassured husband the rest would come out 'naturally'

Mother later rushed to hospital where doctors found 30 per cent of placenta remained in her body



A mother died within hours of giving birth at home after a private midwife committed a horrifying catalogue of errors, an inquest heard.

Claire Teague, 29, was left bleeding in bed after Rosie Kacary allegedly pulled out her placenta following the delivery.

The midwife is also accused of failing to realise a large section of the placenta had not come out and not stitching a tear.

Simon Teague (left) leaves Windsor Guildhall on the first day of the inquest into the death of his wife, Claire Teague. Rosie Kacary (right) allegedly pulled out her placenta following the delivery

Mrs Teague complained to her husband, Simon, about feeling weak and in pain after the birth but Kacary left and only returned after 'repeated contact'.

When she came back to the couple's home in Woodley, near Reading, Berkshire, she discovered Mrs Teague had stopped breathing.

Instead of performing CPR on a firm area such as the floor, Kacary is said to have done it on the bed, where it was less effective.

Mrs Teague, who suffered haemorrhaging and three cardiac arrests, was taken to hospital by ambulance but died later that day.

Giving evidence in Windsor yesterday, Mr Teague said he and his wife lost a twin following an emergency caesarean at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading in 2009. A girl, now three, survived.

Following the trauma, when Mrs Teague conceived again she wanted to give birth at North Hampshire Hospital in Basingstoke.



Claire Teague was rushed to the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading (pictured) after she stopped breathing at home following the birth of her child

But he said his wife was 'brainwashed' into having a home birth by the midwife, who insisted it was safe. Mrs Teague gave birth to their son, Harrison, at home at around 6am on August 1, 2010.

Her husband told the hearing he became 'anxious' as Kacary 'pulled on the cord six or seven times in an aggressive manner'. He added: 'Eventually the placenta came out with a lot of force and tugging.'

The midwife, he said, examined the placenta by torchlight in the dark bedroom and told the couple that parts remained in the uterus but would come out naturally.

Dr Helen Allott (pictured) said in good light it would have been apparent part of Mrs Teague's placenta was missing

Mr Teague also said Kacary insisted a tear his wife suffered during the delivery was not serious enough to need a suture.

The midwife left at 10am. Mr Teague claimed that when she eventually returned and attempted to resuscitate his wife, she 'didn't seem to know what she was doing'.

The inquest heard from a paramedic who described the ambulance that took Mrs Teague to the Royal Berkshire Hospital as 'swimming in blood'.

Doctors established around a third of the placenta – measuring 8in by 3in – had not been delivered. Dr Helen Allott, a consultant gynaecologist, told the hearing haemorrhaging could be caused by a section of placenta remaining in the mother as it would prevent the uterus from contracting.

She also said the placenta should never be 'tugged' and the decision to have a home birth after previous complications was 'high risk'.

Another doctor, Suad Hirsi-Farah, who treated Mrs Teague, said she had suffered a tear which would normally be stitched immediately in hospital under anaesthetic.

Mr Teague claimed Kacary expressed doubts about her own conduct. 'She came up to me and said “I should have stayed longer, shouldn't I?”' he said. But Kacary, 50, told the inquest she tried to pull out the placenta only three or four times. She said she believed it had emerged complete and would have recommended hospital treatment if she thought otherwise.

She denied claims she examined Mrs Teague in a dark room and said she attended refresher emergency medicine courses each year and had never been told to move someone on to a floor to perform CPR.

'My whole practice has always been extremely kind and gentle and thoughtful and caring,' she added. 'I did the best I could under the circumstances.'

The midwife, who qualified in 1998 and has practised privately since 2003, has overseen 96 home births.

A post mortem examination found Mrs Teague died from lack of oxygen caused by severe haemorrhaging due to a retained placenta.