Jennifer and Agnes Cahill inquest: Mum and newborn die after homebirth goes tragically wrong

Authorities are searching for answers after a mother and her newborn died within days of each other after a homebirth ended in tragedy.

Manchester woman Jennifer Cahill, 34, never got to hold her newborn daughter after giving birth on June 3, 2024.

She died a day later and her daughter, Agnes, survived just four days before she, too, passed away.

An inquest into Ms Cahill’s death is underway, with her husband Rob telling the Rochdale Coroner’s Court he called the 999 emergency line at around 6.45m on June 3 after Agnes was born unresponsive and the nurse attending the homebirth was unable to revive her.

He went to the hospital with Agnes and only later discovered Ms Cahill also had to be rushed to hospital suffering complications from the birth.

The couple’s decision to have a homebirth is now being scrutinised, with the inquest told that hospital staff had informed the couple a home birth was “out of guidance” and “against advice”, the Manchester Evening News reports.

Mr Cahill denies hearing that terminology until after the tragedy.

Concerns about a homebirth related to the complications Ms Cahill suffered during the birth of her first child, Rudy. She had a postpartum haemorrhage and needed a blood transfusion after losing more than 800ml of blood as the result of an episiotomy and a tear.

She was also a carrier of group B strep which can spread to babies during birth and cause serious infections including sepsis, meningitis, or pneumonia.

Rudy contracted sepsis after he was born.

The inquest was told, Ms Cahill had an appointment with a consultant at North Manchester General Hospital who developed a treatment and delivery plan for Agnes’ birth, advising she have a hospital birth.

Caroline Nixon, a community midwife who also saw Ms Cahill, said she discussed the birth risks with her during midwife appointments in December 2023 but that by February Ms Cahill informed her she had come up with a different birth plan that included a home birth.

Mr Cahill told the inquest his wife was stressed by the prospect of giving birth in a hospital after Rudy’s “traumatic” birth, where she felt she had not received enough midwife support.

She thought this could alleviated for her second labour if she had a homebirth attended by two midwives, where it would be a calmer environment and better for the baby.

Ms Nixon said she referred Ms Cahill to a doctor after she requested a homebirth, given she was high risk and her care would have to deviate from the first birth plan.

After the doctor’s visit, Ms Cahill returned to Ms Nixon still keen on a homebirth. Ms Nixon said she reviewed the risks and the plan with Ms Cahill but did not specifically address the fact that a homebirth was against medical advice.

When asked why, Ms Nixon said she was trained “respect women’s choices”.

“All community midwives were concerned about high risk ladies having home births. That’s not what we were trained for. We were trained to look after low risk ladies in home births,” Ms Nixon told the inquest, Manchester News reported.

“(The risk of death) wasn’t something you were ever told to talk about with ladies.”

Direct phrases such as “this is against medical advice” were to be avoided because that was the role of the consultant.

She did, however, believe that Ms Cahill was fully aware of the risks.

Ms Nixon said she should have referred Ms Cahill back to a doctor after she refused to be tested for group Strep B.

The inquest is continuing.