A midwife involved in delivering a baby who died a week after birth said she “wrongly trusted” doctors she had raised concerns with. Freya Murphy died on July 28, 2018, in the neonatal intensive care unit at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) in Glasgow, seven days after she was born in the maternity unit, a fatal accident inquiry at Glasgow Sheriff Court was told. Her mother Karen Murphy, 32, was admitted to QEUH on July 20 when her pregnancy pathway changed from green to red, indicating the risk level had increased.
Mrs Murphy, a teacher from Cambuslang, was told to “push” at around 6.30am on July 21 but needed assistance for “poor” contractions and a cardiotocograph (CTG) showed “deep deceleration” in the fetal heart rate, the court heard. Freya was born covered in “copious amounts of thick meconium” and given CPR, but she died a week later.
A post-mortem examination gave her cause of death as global hypoxic-ischaemic brain injury associated with acute chorioamnionitis. The Murphy family questioned why the UK is not routinely testing for Group B strep, described as the “likely” cause of infection by neonatal expert Dr Michael Munro. A midwife who helped deliver Freya said she was not given written notes and was unaware that Mrs Murphy had experienced “low fetal movements” or that meconium had been spotted on a maternity pad, the inquiry was told.
Giving evidence, midwife Helen Kidd said Mrs Murphy’s contractions did not improve wit.