Although women give birth to babies every day, it’s not an easy task. It takes both physical and emotional strength. Childbirth also comes with tremendous risks for both the mother and the baby. Even when the mother and her medical team do everything right, things can go wrong. Unfortunately, sometimes medical professionals make mistakes that leave families heartbroken. Poppy Hope Lomas died just seven days after her birth in 2022, and her family hopes their story will help others avoid the same tragedy.
Gemma Lomas gave birth to her baby girl at home.
According to court documents obtained by Daily Mail, Lomas gave birth to her first daughter, Willow, via Cesarean section. She opted for a vaginal birth for Poppy with the help of Edgware Midwives’ home birth team in England. Lomas claims no one warned her of the risks of having a vaginal birth after Cesarean, or VBAC, and that her daughter was born “blue and floppy.” The mom claimed her midwife team reacted slowly, leading to fatal consequences.
Lomas knew immediately that something was wrong with her daughter.
Lomas’ lawyer, Teresa Hargreaves, read a statement from the mother in court detailing her memory of Poppy’s birth.
“The midwife placed Poppy on my chest and said, ‘There’s your baby,’” Lomas recalled. “Poppy was blue and floppy. There was blood coming out of her mouth and her head fell back. That’s a horrific memory that sticks in my mind, being handed my dead baby.”
The mother allegedly shared her concerns with the medical team. “I said ‘there’s something wrong’ but the midwives moved very slowly, there was no sense of urgency,’” the lawyer read, per Daily Mail.
Lomas trusted the team, whom she believes failed her and Poppy.
Lomas’ statement explained her relationship with Alice Boardman, the head midwife at Edgware Midwives. The mother claimed that Boardman encouraged her to have a VBAC but never outlined the risks. Lomas trusted the woman implicitly.
“’I immediately trusted Alice. She was young and I felt like she was really advocating for me. She was very upbeat and said: ‘Let’s go for this.’ “VBACs were something they did every day,” the mother recalled, per Daily Mail. “She said they’d just delivered a lady with a VBAC with twins. She said that, because of my previous C-section, I’d have to ‘jump through a few hoops’ and speak to their consultant.
“I was very much led to believe that the conversation I’d be having with their consultant was just a tick box exercise and there was no good reason I could not have a VBAC at home,” she added.
Lomas experienced pain during her VBAC delivery.
The mother detailed feeling uncomfortable and notable pain in her C-section scar when boardman was pushing on it with a monitoring device. She allegedly told Boardman who responded, “I need to do this, it’s important.”
Lomas added she had a perfectly healthy pregnancy, and Poppy was fine the entire time.
“That makes her loss even harder to deal with. The fact that it all happened in our home, a place where we should feel safe, has also made the trauma so much worse,” the mother added.
Per Daily Mail, a Royal Free London representative shared a statement regarding Lomas’ tragic loss.
“Our heartful condolences remain with Poppy Lomas’s family at this incredibly difficult time. An investigation into the care provided to Ms Lomas and to Poppy has been carried out and the findings shared with the Lomas family. We await the outcome of the inquest and will carefully review any matters which are raised,” the statement reads.
What a tragedy.
