Pregnant teacher died from rare complication

HAPPIER times: Cath with husband Matt and three-year-old daughter Isla

A PREGNANT teacher with a history of miscarriage died of massive internal bleeding caused by a rare complication, an inquest heard.

Cath Moston (35), from Shaw, was taken to the Royal Oldham Hospital in January 2014, after falling ill at Middleton Technology School, where she was head of science.

The inquest, at the Phoenix Centre, Heywood, heard how she contacted her midwife, who told her to go home. The pain soon worsened. Her father Peter Lee contacted the NHS four times between 2.45 and 3.15pm as Cath weakened.

Though Cath was asking for an ambulance, Mr Lee said he was told she couldn’t have one because there was no sign of bleeding. Her father tried to get Cath into his car to take her himself, but couldn;t move her. Her condition deteriorated and he again called for an ambulance.

When one arrived at around 3.45pm, Cath was showing no blood pressure but crews showed “a lack of urgency” according to Mr Lee. Cath was put in the ambulance but stopped breathing on the way to hospital and had to be resuscitated.

When she arrived, the emergency team tried to stabilise her and performed a Caesarean to save her unborn child. The baby girl died soon afterwards.

Devastated husband Matt was briefly able to hold the baby, Esther, before he was told at 5pm that Cath had died of a massive internal haemorrhage and cardiac arrest.

Matt raised concerns at the inquest over the events of that day due to Cath’s history of miscarriage, and that he was shocked her history hadn’t raised an alarm when she first complained of pain.

Consultant in emergency medicine Mohammed Zahir, who oversaw Cath’s care, said doctors would have struggled to save her even given more time, due to the seriousness of her condition. He also suggested earlier diagnosis of a problem wouldn’t have been likely - despite five earlier miscarriages - unless there had been bleeding to alert doctors.

The inquest is set to conclude today.

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