Coroner slams 'basic failures' at hospital after staff gave mother a ginger biscuit thinking she was dehydrated post birth - when she was actually bleeding to death
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A mother who died from massive post-birth haemorrhage was 'failed' by NHS staff who gave her a biscuit thinking she was dehydrated, a report has found. Laura-Jane Seaman, 36, died at Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford, Essex, in December 2022, two days after the birth of her son.
![[The care support worker (pictured) was 'begging staff to help her' and pleading that she didn't want to die but medics from a 'range of disciplines' failed to listen]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/24/15/88527963-0-Staff_had_given_the_mother_of_five_a_ginger_bread_biscuit_after_-a-2_1735054714602.jpg)
The care support worker was 'begging staff to help her' and pleading that she didn't want to die but medics from a 'range of disciplines' failed to listen. This was despite it being known she was at high risk of postpartum haemorrhage – heavy post-birth bleeding – as well as her desperate warnings that she could feel bleeding, felt dizzy and her limbs had gone numb.
![[Concerns raised by Laura (pictured) went ignored despite her desperate warnings that she could feel bleeding, felt dizzy and her limbs had gone numb]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/24/15/88527959-0-Concerns_raised_by_Laura_went_ignored_despite_her_desperate_warn-a-4_1735055846337.jpg)
Medical staff put Ms Seaman's symptoms down to dehydration and after losing consciousness she was simply handed a ginger biscuit for her to eat. Ms Seaman ended up suffering two cardiac arrests when her condition deteriorated and was taken into emergency surgery, but tragically passed away on December 23.
![[Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford, Essex, in December 2022, where Ms Seaman died two days after the birth of her son]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/24/16/93459957-0-image-a-5_1735056229200.jpg)
A prevention of future deaths report has since found there were 'multiple missed opportunities to escalate and treat' Ms Seaman in the lead up to her death. Coroner Sonia Hayes said the mother-of-five's 'maternal collapse' was categorised as a faint and she was treated for potential dehydration and given medication that had 'only a transient effect'.
Laura-Jane Seaman, 36, (pictured) died from a massive internal haemorrhage after giving birth at a hospital. The care support worker (pictured) was 'begging staff to help her' and pleading that she didn't want to die but medics from a 'range of disciplines' failed to listen.
