THE devastated parents of a teen mother who died after giving birth to their “larger than expected” grandson have told of their “living nightmare”.
Teegan Barnard, 17, lost almost four litres of blood when she gave birth to her nine pounds and nine ounce baby via caesarean section in 2019.
Teegan Barnard, 17, tragically passed away in 2019 after enduring a traumatic birthSolent
Have Your Say StoriesHer parents, Abbie Hallawel and Trevor Barnard, have now told of their heartbreak[/caption]
Have Your Say Stories9lb 9oz Parker was born ‘larger than expected’, an inquest heard[/caption]
She suffered a catastrophic airflow issue after her son was born – which could have been fixed with the emergency insertion of needles into her chest.
But medics failed to treat the new mum in time after missing key symptoms due to “confirmational bias”, a coroner has ruled.
Teegan was instead “deprived of of oxygen for 20 minutes”, seeing her suffer a “prolonged” cardiac arrest and ‘irrecoverable’ brain damage.
Her heartbroken parents Abbie Hallawel and Trevor Barnard have now told of their grief after their joy turned to tragedy.
The family had been “delighted” when Teegan fell pregnant and were excited to see the teen become a “fantastic” mum.
But as she went into St Richard’s Hospital in Chichester, West Sussex, to welcome her baby into the world, the 17-year-old sadly endured a traumatic labour.
The 5ft 6ins teenager, who weighed 52kg, suffered an obstructed labour – when a tot cannot exit the pelvis.
She lost 3.8 litres of blood in just 10 minutes as as she gave birth to 9lbs 9oz baby Parker, who was “larger than expected”, via caesarean at 3.04am on September 9, 2019.
The inquest heard medics could have offered to induce Teegan three weeks before she eventually gave birth at 41 weeks, but did not.
A midwife who had cared for the teen from eight weeks said she was “not expecting a big baby.”
Investigators from the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) said it would have been “best practice” and “appropriate” for health workers to offer Teegan an induced labour, where a mother is given drugs to help kickstart a birth.
Instead, Teegan’s baby son grew in size and “in retrospect it would have contributed to the risk of Postpartum haemorrhage”, investigators said.
Despite the complications during labour, the keen horserider was considered “clinically stable” – until she suffered a cardiac arrest.
When turning her on a bed to be cleaned, it emerged there was a “catastrophic and unexpected inability to ventilate” Teegan.
Doctors wrongly thought she had acute bronchospasm, a respiratory issue. However, signs did not indicate bronchospasm but bilateral tension pneumothorax.
Despite this, doctors did not properly consider treating bilateral tension pneumothorax by inserting needles into her and there was a “delay” in recognising the real reason.
West Sussex coroner Dr Karen Henderson said: “I’m satisfied that with earlier intervention, Teegan would not have died when she did.”
She said doctors should have explored other possibilities when treating Teegan.
The last three years have been a living nightmare which no parent should have to go through.
Abbie Hallawel
She told the inquest: “Teegan was transferred from the operating table to her bed. As was routine process, she was turned to one side to be cleaned.
“She was transferred to the other side and a high air pressure [alarm] went off.
“This resulted in a catastrophic and unexpected inability to ventilate.
“She became very swollen… There was an ongoing inability to ventilate and she had a cardiac arrest.”
Following a lengthy inquest, Dr Henderson ruled the tragic teen died after suffering bilateral tension pneumothorax, a severe condition in which air is trapped in the chest and puts pressure on the heart.
Needles can be inserted into a patient’s chest to release this pressure – a procedure called thoracostomy – which could have saved Teegan.
The new mum tragically passed away at her home in Havant, Hants, four weeks later on October 7, 2019.
Her inconsolable parents say it is “almost impossible” to explain their sadness after leaving the hospital with Parker – but not his mum.
The tot now only has a handful of pictures of Teegan cradling him in hospital as a newborn to cherish.
Abbie sobbed: “The last three years have been a living nightmare which no parent should have to go through.
“Our lives are not the same without Teegan. She was such a loving and caring girl who enjoyed things people her age did such as meeting friends and horse riding.
“She had an infectious personality and a wonderful smile. It’s devastating to think she’ll never get to fulfil her potential in life.
‘NOTHING CAN FILL THE VOID’
“While the inquest and listening to the evidence as to why Teegan died has been incredibly traumatic it’s something we needed to do to honour her memory.
“We know nothing can bring Teegan back or fill the void in our lives.”
The family are now putting all their focus into raising their now three-year-old grandson alongside his dad, Leon Forster.
The griefstricken grandma continued: “All we can do now is ensure Parker grows up fully understanding what he meant to Teegan, how much she loved him and how proud she would have been of him.
“Teegan may not be with us, but she will always be a part of our family.
“All we can hope for now is that her death wasn’t totally in vain and improvements are made to help other mums.
“We wouldn’t wish the hurt and pain we continue to live with on anyone else.”
Dr Henderson will pen a “Prevention of Future Deaths” report to ensure medics learn from the tragedy, while expressing her concerns over the case.
She praised Teegan’s family for their strength throughout the “challenging” inquest, while paying tribute to the late teen.
The coroner said: “She was at the very beginning, the very cusp of her adult life, and she was greatly beloved by her family and loved them deeply in return and had a touchingly close relationship with her mother and grandparents.
“She was known as someone who loved socialising, horse riding, and I have no doubt as to the depth of the devastation for her family and son.”
Following the hearing, Dr Tim Taylor, medical director and chief of service for woman and children at University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We wish to extend our sincere condolences to Teegan’s family for their terrible loss.
“Her death was an extremely rare tragedy that we know has deeply affected everyone involved.
“We are determined that all possible learning from the inquest will be acted upon as we continue do all we can to improve our services for women and children in our care.”
Parker, now three, is being raised by his grandparents and dad, Leon ForsterSolent
The 17-year-old could have been saved if medics had recognised her key symptomsSolent Read More