Mother who contracted Covid-19 told inquest she had to wear PPE as her baby died

A grieving mother has told the UK’s Covid-19 inquiry she had to wear full PPE as her baby died in her arms just hours after being born during the pandemic.

Catherine Todd has said she felt unsafe in hospital in Northern Ireland after contracting Covid while pregnant.

The third module of the inquiry, chaired by Baroness Heather Hallett, examines the impact of the pandemic on healthcare systems across the UK.

She heard evidence on Wednesday morning from Ms Todd, a member of the Northern Ireland Covid Bereaved Families for Justice group.

Her newborn son Ziggy died at Ulster Hospital on July 21, 2021.

The inquest heard Ms Todd was nearly 28 weeks pregnant when she contracted Covid that month.

They told me they wouldn’t accept me at the time because they wanted to reduce the risk of spreading Covid

She said this led to the cancellation of a routine pregnancy ultrasound.

Ms Todd said she then began to feel unwell and was concerned her unborn baby was not moving.

She said she called the hospital’s maternity ward several times and was told to take paracetamol, lie on her side and drink a fizzy drink.

She told the inquest: “They told me they wouldn’t accept me at the time because they wanted to reduce the risk of spreading Covid.”

Ms Todd said she believed she would have been seen sooner if she had not had Covid.

After her condition worsened, she called her GP who advised her to go to the hospital emergency room.

She told the inquest that after waiting in the emergency department for 10 hours, she was transferred to the maternity ward and an emergency operation was carried out because of concerns about a lack of amniotic fluid around the baby.

She said her partner TJ was not allowed to visit her at the time.

When her son Ziggy was born, he was taken to the neonatal intensive care unit and placed in an incubator overnight, the inquest heard.

Inquest counsel Nick Scott asked: “Do you think the fact that you tested positive for Covid-19 had anything to do with the amount of information you were given about Ziggy’s condition overnight?”

She said: “Yes, I think they were trying not to come in and out of the room as much as they would have if I hadn’t been Covid positive.”

Ms Todd said she and her partner were taken to see Ziggy the following morning, believing his condition was improving.

She said: “They took everything away and handed Ziggy over to me and then they just left the room and then he passed away and they didn’t come back for about two hours.”

Mr Scott said: “Was this the first time you had been with Ziggy since he was born?”

She answered, “Yes.”

He added: “Did you have to wear full PPE when you were with him?”

She said, “Yes. We had hairnets, masks, a visor, gloves and shoe covers.

“I thought it was unnecessary. At the time, they knew how sick he was. I don’t understand why we were all wearing our personal protective equipment.”

Asked about the impact of wearing protective gear, Ms Todd said: “All the pictures we have of him are in full PPE.”

After Ziggy’s death, his body was taken to Liverpool Hospital for a post mortem.

Ms Todd told the inquest that for two days before Ziggy’s body arrived at Alder Hey Hospital, she did not know where his remains were.

Mr Scott asked: “When you look back on all your experiences in July 2021, do you think there were enough staff to care for you at that time?”

She said, “No.”

He said: “Do you think the staff knew how to treat a pregnant woman with Covid in 2021?

She replied, “No.”

He asked: “Did you feel safe as a pregnant woman in Northern Ireland?”

She said, “Not at all, no.”

Referring to the fact that Ms Todd is pregnant again, the lawyer asked her whether she now felt safe as a pregnant woman in Northern Ireland.

She replied, “No.”