Inquest Hears Midwife Placed 'Blue and Floppy' Newborn on Mother's Chest
A mother whose baby died just seven days after birth has told an inquest how midwives placed the "blue and floppy" newborn on her chest with an upbeat comment, "there's your baby." The tragic case of baby Poppy Hope Lomas has raised serious questions about the safety of planned home births, particularly for mothers with previous caesarean sections.
Tragic Details Emerge at Barnet Coroner's Court
At Barnet Coroner's Court in north London, senior coroner Andrew Walker heard how Poppy Hope Lomas died at University College Hospital on October 26, 2022, following complications during a planned home delivery. The baby's mother, Gemma Lomas, had arranged the home birth with Edgware Midwives, the designated home birth team at Barnet Hospital, which operates under the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust.
In a witness statement read by her lawyer Teresa Hargreaves, Ms Lomas described the harrowing moment after Poppy's birth. "The midwife placed Poppy on my chest and said, 'There's your baby,'" she recalled. "Poppy was blue and floppy. There was blood coming out of her mouth and her head fell back. That's a horrific memory that sticks in my mind, being handed my dead baby."
Mother Claims Midwives Were Slow to React
Ms Lomas told the inquest she immediately recognized something was wrong but felt midwives responded without urgency. "I said there's something wrong' but the midwives moved very slowly, there was no sense of urgency," she stated. The court heard how Poppy was eventually transferred to University College Hospital by ambulance after midwives instructed her father, Jason Lomas, to call 999.
According to medical evidence presented at the inquest, consultant neonatologist Dr Giles Kendall described Poppy's brain scan as "one of the worst that he'd seen in his career." He indicated the baby had been "starved of oxygen for a long time," while midwife Alice Boardman reportedly estimated this period at seven to eight minutes. "I still don't understand how she was without oxygen for so long when the midwives were supposedly monitoring her heart rate," Ms Lomas said in her statement.
Concerns Over VBAC Home Birth Guidance
The inquest revealed that Ms Lomas had previously undergone a caesarean section for the birth of her first daughter, Willow, but claimed she was not adequately informed about the risks of a vaginal birth after caesarean (VBAC) at home. She described how Ms Boardman, head midwife at Edgware Midwives, had been "enthusiastic" about the prospect of a home VBAC.
"I immediately trusted Alice. She was young and I felt like she was really advocating for me," Ms Lomas said. "She was very upbeat and said 'Let's go for this.' VBACs were something they did every day. She said they'd just delivered a lady with a VBAC with twins." Ms Lomas added that she was led to believe consultations about the home birth were "just a tick box exercise."
This contrasts sharply with official guidance from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG), which states that VBACs should be conducted in "a suitably staffed and equipped delivery suite" with "resources available for immediate caesarean delivery." The guidance further notes that practitioners should exercise caution with women who have uterine scars, as there is approximately a one in 200 risk of uterine rupture during natural birth.
Additional Complaints Ignored During Labour
Ms Lomas also told the inquest that midwives dismissed her complaints of pain from her previous C-section scar during labour. "I complained my scar was hurting. It was tight and was starting to really hurt. It felt like it was stretching rather than ripping," she explained. She recalled asking a midwife to stop pressing a Doppler device hard against her stomach due to pain, but was told, "I need to do this, it's important."
Family's Trauma and Ongoing Inquest
Poppy died seven days after her birth when her breathing tube was removed. "That was the worst week of our lives. We knew she wasn't going to make it," Ms Lomas said. She emphasized that losing Poppy was particularly difficult because the baby had been healthy throughout the pregnancy. "She was perfectly fine inside me. She had no defects or problems. It was just those final moments of her birth," she stated. "The fact that it all happened in our home, a place where we should feel safe, has also made the trauma so much worse."
The inquest, attended by Poppy's parents who held hands throughout the proceedings, was adjourned until Tuesday when evidence is expected from the Edgware Midwives team. The case continues to highlight critical issues surrounding home birth safety protocols, informed consent for VBAC procedures, and emergency response standards within community midwifery services.
