Doctor 'devastated' by Havant teen mother's death
- Published
Teegan Barnard, 17, suffered cardiac arrest and brain damage two hours after giving birth
A doctor has described his devastation over the death of a new mother.
Teegan Barnard, 17, from Havant, Hampshire, lost nearly four litres of blood following a caesarean at St Richard's Hospital in Chichester, West Sussex, in September 2019.
Two hours after her son Parker was born she suffered a cardiac arrest and brain damage. She died a month later.
An inquest has heard questions about the diagnosis of the cause of the cardiac arrest.
It had previously been told the teenager's baby was larger than average, weighing 9lb 9oz.
Dr Leon Campbell, the medical registrar on call at the time, told the hearing: "Teegan's death has devastated me as a doctor and as a person."
He said he thought about Miss Barnard's death every day and had carried out exhaustive research to understand it.
Dr Campbell said: "Even with hindsight I feel that with all the evidence available to us at the time, I still feel anaphylaxis was an appropriate working diagnosis [as the cause of cardiac arrest]."
He added he believed a tension pneumothorax [air accumulates between the chest wall and the lung] occurred and became more significant later into the cardiac arrest.
Toxicologist Prof Robert Forrest told the inquest at Chichester Coroner's Court he did not think Miss Barnard had an anaphylactic reaction to the drugs she was given.
He said it was more likely she had a bronchospasm [narrowing of the muscles that line the airways], possibly brought on by a drug she was given to stop the haemorrhage, and there may have been an "adverse reaction" which was idiosyncratic to Miss Barnard.
He added it was "a very difficult case to untangle".
Parker is now being brought up by his father and Miss Barnard's parents.
Her mother Abbie described her daughter as a "big personality" who was "full of life", loved her family, enjoyed socialising with friends and horse riding, and had been in good health.
The inquest continues.
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