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THE BABY WHOSE mother was found dead at Cork University Maternity Hospital has also died.
An investigation was launched at the hospital after the mother of a newborn baby boy was found dead on the floor of her room on Monday with her infant underneath her.
The cause of death of the mother, who was in her 30s, has not yet been confirmed.
A spokesperson for the South-South West Hospital Group this morning confirmed that the baby boy died yesterday evening.
“The mother of the four-day-old infant died at the hospital on Monday morning.
“As with all unexplained deaths a full medical investigation was immediately initiated. This investigation is currently under way at CUMH,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
They stated that the hospital wished to “express its deepest sympathy with the family of the mother and her baby”, adding:
The priority now for the hospital is the wellbeing of their family.
Staff at the hospital checked on the mother and baby on Monday morning and they both appeared to be doing well. When staff were doing their rounds an hour later they found the mother lying on the floor with her child.
One of the possibilities being put forward is that the woman fell out of bed while she was breastfeeding the infant. Staff are said to be shocked and saddened at the deaths.
CUMH opened in 2007 and is an amalgamation of maternity services from Erinville, St Finbarr’s and the Bon Secours Hospital. It is the largest tertiary referral centre in the south of Ireland.
With reporting by Olivia Kelleher
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That is one of the saddest things I’ve ever heard.
@James Wallace: Totally agree.
So sad….
RIP and condolences to those left behind.
As someone who is currently over 7 months pregnant, this has broken my heart. Condolences to all her family. Sometimes the world is just cruel
A very sad start to the day. RIP little one.
Ah no, so sad.
This is just so sad. RIP
Jesus that’s heartbreaking :(
Condolences to their family. It’s absolutely heartbreaking. So sudden and tragic. I’m sure all those who were working there are in shock too.
Until the investigation is completed I wouldn’t point fingers but I have a 4 month old and I can totally believe she could have fallen out of bed out of pure exhaustion after the birth and not being used to being in a small single bed. It’s a shame that they don’t go back to the old ways where babies were minded while the mums recovered. The recovery is nearly worse than labour and delivery.
@Eimear Houlihan: maternity hospitals have gone to the dogs. I was lucky when I had my daughter 16 years ago to have had the care I had. Healthcare has sadly gone terrible in the last few years.
@Eimear Houlihan: What I would have really appreciated would be a family rooming in option. I was bawling when my husband had to leave me and my hours old infant alone in the hospital. We need to be doing more to support new families – be it a relative, partner etc. who can stay and help support. I’d be like a wild animal if I was separated from my baby, but I totally get you – after a long and exhausting journey woman are left alone to care for a newborn, it’s utterly inhumane!
Tragic. My love to the family at this horrible time
Prayers and thoughts for the family . RIP to mum and baby
Very sad news , deepest condolences to the family.
So heartbreaking. My heart goes out to the families. Just so utterly horrible.
Just tragic! Shocked that this could and did happen
How could this even happen? So sad
Cannot believe this happened . My thought and prayers are with her family .
So very very sad. Rip to mother and baby. But caused by falling out of bed? Seriously?
@Elaine: People should wait for the full facts of this case to come out. I know the family involved. This is an unbelievable tragedy.
Heartbreaking RIP
Tragic… That hurts just reading , cant imagine how the family are..
I am actually deadly serious no lies I actually have tears in my eyes my little daughter was born januart 2018 and i just cant get over tjis at all its just a verh very sad thing to happen the poor woman and the child its devestating i will prayer for them both they are in my thoughts and they are from my county also. God be good to them please.
This is an extremely traffic event of course, but do healthy women for from falling out of bed?
@Melanie McCrum: yes. Anyone can die from falling out of bed. We don’t know if that’s what happened here either. Speculation should be kept to a minimum since we don’t kniw the facts out of respect for the family
@Melanie McCrum: have you seen the hospital beds they are so narrow and very easy to fall out of
I find it offensive that you should remark that I disrespected this poor ladies family. I have an opinion, I just said that it would be unusual, unfortunate for anybody to fall out of need and die as a result as reported in the article. They were not my words. No need to comment about my reply.
Yes I have, I used to work in the Irish Hosp as a junior MD
@Melanie McCrum: don’t rise to the trolls, anyone who has experienced the level of care in CUMH and other MH know how hard the staff work. Unfortunately the only people who never take a day off are the journal trolls. RIP this poor woman and her child.
@Mairtin Antaine O Conaill . I’m not in anyway suggesting this has anything to do with staff, beds, the Health Service, anything. Read the article, it says the lady may have falling out of bed and died. I simply remarked it would unusual for a young woman to fall out of bed and die! No disrespect meant to anyone.
@Melanie McCrum: easy to fall out of a bed your not used to, all you have to do is hit your head in the wrong spot and that’s it…tragic story, may they both rest easy.
@Jun Stone. If you say so.
So so tragic. This could be a case of SADS. I lost my 21 yr old son to this. As most cases are due to an inherited cardiac condition the family should ask for blood or tissue suitable for genetic testing to be saved
Angles both . So sad to hear about the death of both mother and child.
Sometimes life just doesn’t seem to make scene.
R.I.P.
Heartfelt condolences to the family.
May your life be lightened by memories.
The hospital beds are too small in maternity hospitals. They are narrower than a kids bed!
They encourage breastfeeding but no real safe space to do it.
I’ve fallen asleep on those beds with my baby while feeding and I was lucky nothing happened.
Mums are exhausted after birth, no sleep for days, blood loss, surgery, stitches, shock, hormones etc etc I’m almost surprised it doesn’t happen more.
My heart breaks for them both and their family x
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