Latest news with #postpartumcare
RNZ News
2 days ago
- Health
- RNZ News
Breastfeeding baby died after ‘distracted' midwife left room for 25 minutes
By Jeremy Wilkinson, Open Justice reporter of Photo: A "distracted" midwife who was "rushing" to complete administrative tasks after a birth left the room for 25 minutes - only to come back and find the baby unresponsive. She, and the other staff at the hospital fought to revive the newborn, who had just finished breastfeeding, but she died despite being transferred to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Now, a coroner has criticised midwife Lesa Haynesfor a lack of vigilance and mismanagement of her priorities which resulted in the preventable death of the 30-hour-old baby girl. An inquest held in 2023 focused on the postpartum care the couple received, in terms of how they were taught to breastfeed the baby and make sure she was able to both breathe and feed. According to inquest findings, which were released today, the baby was born in 2015 at Palmerston North Hospital, and the parents, who cannot be named, were assisted by Haynes in helping the baby latch before she left the room to complete paperwork and other tasks. The mother said that at some point during this time, her baby stopped feeding, and she thought this meant she was full and had gone to sleep. Shortly after this, the mother began bleeding and needed to call for a nurse, at which point Haynes returned and noticed that the baby appeared quite still. Haynes recalls the baby lying on her back, not breathing, with mottled skin and immediately recognised something was wrong and began attempting to resuscitate her. The baby was intubated and then transferred to Wellington Hospital's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. However, it was found that the baby had suffered irreversible brain damage due to a lack of oxygen, and the decision was made to take her off life support. The cause of death was confirmed as Hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy due to neonatal asphyxia during the skin-to-skin contact while feeding the baby. The baby's mother told the inquest that she recalled being surprised at how close the baby needed to be held in order to be fed, and remembers asking Haynes: "Will she be able to breathe?" and being told in response that "The desire to breathe is greater than her desire to feed." She didn't recall any specific instructions on how to keep the baby's airways clear, and that after the feeding had finished her daughter appeared to be asleep. The baby's father said that after the skin-to-skin contact and the feeding began, Haynes left the room a number of times. When she returned and saw that the baby was still, she "immediately grabbed the baby and jumped into action". When asked about what he expected in terms of Haynes' further involvement, he said that they were first-time parents and were in her hands, and it was for her to tell them what to do. The father said the inquest focused on the breastfeeding, but at the time it didn't seem like a huge thing because they were told what to expect before Haynes left the room. "That didn't seem unusual or alarming to us, we didn't know any better. Everything was relaxed, casual and there were no details," he said. Haynes accepted that she was absent for about 25 minutes during the second hour of the baby being born, and that she had left the room multiple times in the first hour. "…it would have been for a couple of minutes to get pain relief but with the amount of work that goes on within that first hour or so, there's no way I left the room for an extended period of time and would have left them alone," she said at the inquest. Haynes explained that once the baby had been born she would keep an eye on the girl's colour and breathing and checking the placenta and the mother's perineum. She would also clean up after the birth, position the mother and getting the baby skin to skin. In terms of breastfeeding she said that she talked about keeping the baby's face clear, watching the length of her jaw for sucking, what to look for with swallowing, how to make sure that her face was clear. She said she showed the mother how to put her finger on her breast to keep that away from the baby's face and then got her to repeat that back to her. She said she most definitely showed the parents the proper technique for breastfeeding, stating. "I can still see that day in my head, it is very clear, that that's what I did…I cannot get rid of it". After about five minutes she considered that the mother and baby were fine and that the father was capable of watching them, so she left the room to give them some time alone. The midwife was questioned at the inquest about whether she had an obligation to remain in the room. "In hindsight, absolutely," she replied. Haynes declined to comment further when approached by NZME about today's findings. Coroner Bruce Hesketh said in his findings that Haynes had not provided an acceptable standard of maternity care, that it wasn't appropriate for her to have left the room, and that the baby's death was preventable. "I am satisfied that RM Haynes was rushing to complete her outstanding tasks instead of being vigilant during the very important skin to skin contact and first breastfeed between [the mother] and [the baby]." "I do not accept it was appropriate in the circumstances of this case to leave the parents alone at the time she did. It was too soon and there had not been sufficient observation of mother and baby during the first breastfeed." Coroner Hesketh said that Haynes' priorities were wrong in leaving the room when she did and that she should have stayed longer to observe. "I find RM Haynes got distracted when she left the birthing suite and had it not been for the call bell activation and the intervention of [hospital staff], I am satisfied RM Haynes would have been absent for even longer." Coroner Hesketh recommended the Te Whatu Ora review the definition of the "Immediate Postnatal period" in its guidelines, and that this period should not encompass just the first one to two hours post birth. Instead, Coroner Hesketh said this period should be an ongoing assessment that recognised any deviations from normality. * This story originally appeared in the New Zealand Herald .
Fast Company
18-07-2025
- Health
- Fast Company
Femtech changed fertility. Now it's ready to rebuild maternal health
It's time to rebuild how women give birth. In the U.S., we've poured billions into fertility tech, helping people conceive. But when it comes to pregnancy, birth and the first year, innovation is lagging and outcomes are suffering. With the proper focus and attention, we can ensure the health and safety of mothers and infants through remote monitoring, improved tools for labor and delivery, and wraparound care postpartum. We have a chance to not only make pregnancy safer but also ensure every mother gets the care and attention they deserve. In the past decade, femtech has emerged as an industry helping women manage a range of health challenges. Maternal health, however, hasn't received nearly the attention it deserves. There is a pressing need for innovation across prenatal, labor and delivery and postpartum care. The United States' maternal mortality rate is still 18.6 deaths per 100,000 live maternal health and delivery complications, while not fatal, may impact women's cardiovascular, pelvic, and mental health for the rest of their lives. It's instructive to look at the fertility market to see just how much we could improve maternal health with a concerted effort by technologists, entrepreneurs, and investors. Fertility solutions have received the most investment across femtech, with over $10 billion in venture and private equity investment in the past decade. Every aspect of fertility has received significant investment, from employer-based benefits programs to cycle-tracking apps and wearables, to at-home fertility and insemination kits, plus a range of high-tech solutions for fertility clinics. This investment of capital has led to meaningful gains: At-home kits are reducing costs for individuals, AI is improving IVF outcomes, and employer-backed benefits are expanding access to care. We need the same attention and investment focused on maternal health. Here are three places to start: 1. REAL-TIME PREGNANCY MONITORING AND SCREENING With more maternal health deserts occurring in the US and abroad, remote monitoring may help fill the gap to detect complications before they escalate. Femtech startups are developing robust wearable technology, including smart rings and adhesive sensors designed to track fetal movement, as well as connected devices for early detection of preeclampsia and gestational diabetes. Bloomful recently earned FDA clearance for a device that tracks blood pressure, glucose levels, and fetal heart rate. Their system has demonstrated significant improvements in maternal health outcomes, including a 61% reduction in preeclampsia cases among high-risk pregnancies. Another promising development is Armor Medical's wearable to proactively detect postpartum hemorrhage. The company has developed a wrist sensor that provides objective, real-time insights on blood loss for early intervention. While wearables are one way to monitor pregnancy and detect early complications, biomarkers offer another option. For example, Dionysus Health has created an epigenetic test to prescreen for postpartum depression in the third trimester. And MOMM Diagnostics is pioneering a simple finger-stick kit to be used at home that detects preeclampsia biomarkers well before symptoms arise. The critical challenge is making maternal monitoring and screening tech scalable, affordable, and accessible to all expectant mothers, and building the systems necessary to monitor and respond to the issues surfaced. 2. PRETERM LABOR DETECTION AND PREVENTION 10% of all babies in the US are born preterm, often ending up in intensive care and facing more health issues over time. These babies may struggle with feeding and immune system development, while preterm mothers are at greater risk for postpartum bleeding and infection, postpartum depression and challenges with breastfeeding. Although the technology is still in its early stages, promising tools are available to help detect and prevent preterm labor. Pregonlia is developing a medtech device to detect early signs of preterm labor, and Stanford is using health data from wearables plus AI to identify disrupted circadian rhythms, which may indicate an increased risk of pre-term labor. In the future, new devices like Novocuff can help close the cervix to retain amniotic fluid and maintain cervical length, thereby preventing early delivery. Preterm labor technology is still in its infancy, but with increased investment and careful integration into clinical workflows, these tools have the potential to make a meaningful impact. 3. POSTPARTUM CARE Many women experience physical and mental health issues after they leave the hospital. Yet, in most cases, the postpartum care plan consists of a follow-up appointment six weeks after delivery. It is no surprise that complications are often missed and mental health conditions go untreated. Femtech can provide continuous care, and a wave of new tools is emerging to help close this gap. Some offer continuous physical recovery tracking, while others integrate mental health screening and virtual access to doulas, pelvic floor specialists, and lactation support. The opportunity in this space is huge, and many fertility-focused companies, like Maven and Progyny, now offer wrap-around care to support families through the first year, understanding the benefits afforded to the mothers as well as employers. The solutions moving forward need both better research and broader reach, which can only be achieved through continued innovation, increased investment in research and technology, and policy change. WHERE CHANGE IS NEEDED Healthcare transformation moves slowly. Shifting the standard of care requires clear clinical evidence, upfront investment, and coordination across the system. New models must demonstrate real-world outcomes, fit into existing workflows, and be reimbursable to even have a chance at successful adoption. Change will be driven by two factors: investment and employers. Specialized funds like Wellstar Catalyst, the Laerdal Million Lives Fund, and Medicines360's Innovation Hub are stepping up investment in maternal health innovation. More investment is needed from VCs and private equity to fund maternal care innovation at scale. At the same time, employers have a unique opportunity to accelerate this transformation using the same playbook that worked for fertility and family building benefits. By supporting new mothers through comprehensive care, companies can improve retention with better support for their employees. We've already proven that focused investment and innovation can transform women's healthcare. Femtech changed everything for conception and family building. Now, maternal health is ready for the same revolution. It's time to rebuild birth and the first year.
