Savita’s death – will it change things?

[Anonymous]

This is so sad about what happened to this young woman, who was miscarrying but was denied a D&C because her baby still had a heartbeat. They waited too long for the heartbeat to stop before they intervened and so she contracted septicemia and died.

Its hard to believe in this day & age, this kind of thing can go on and that a young woman can die due to medical negligence.

There seems to be no consistency about medical abortions or D&C’s in this country.

When I was miscarrying for the first time, I was bleeding for days and they did nothing for me, they kept sending me home even when I was in agony and in labour. They gave me no advice on how to deal with what I was going through and offered no medical intervention, like a D&C. After 3 days, I miscarried myself but it was horrific and barbaric and I still shiver when I think about it now.

That was 8 years ago and it seems not much has changed. If they knew this woman was in danger and that the baby was going to die and it was definitely a miscarriage, why didn’t they intervene and give her some drugs to bring on labour and then do a D&C if needed?

Its ridiculous this kind of carry on is still allowed. I guess I was actually lucky that I miscarried without contracting any infections but sadly, Savita was not as lucky.

Its desperately sad and my heart is breaking for her husband. There is no sense in what happened at all.

It would not have been an unnecessary abortion – it would have saved her life and the baby was never going to live, so for the sake of us being a ‘Catholic country’, two lives have been lost instead of one. That does not sound very Catholic to me.

What is going to happen on this now – I see the government are being as vague as ever

[chewieodie]

Such a volatile situation….. 🙁

With my miscarriage I knew there was no heartbeat… 🙁 And was sent home to wait…. with an appointment a week later to have a D & C if needed. It didn’t work out that way with me, because on the night of my hospital visit I started haemoraging, and I was wheeled in for an emergency D & C in the early hours of the morning, as I was losing a dangerous amount of blood…. it could have very easily been a different outcome.

Poor family, totally tragic….. 🙁

[lyn11]

It could have been so many of us, this story breaks my heart. My 2nd miscarriage I was given tablets to bring on the miscarriage as babs had no heartbeat, but I dilated and nothing happened. The hospital wanted to leave me like that as it was Christmas and no one was in the hospital to do a d&c or so they told me. I could have been open to serious infection and only for a midwife who took a phone from me and went out of her way to help, god knows what the outcome would have been for us. Abortion is such a heated issue but my personal opinion is pro-choice especially in situations like this.

[Taylor5]

On my miss i choose not not have a D&C, i was bleeding a few days before i was seen in the EPU in OLOL, i was told there was no heartbeat, i was asked over my dates so the told me to come back a week later, still no heartbeat, so i went home and given an appointment for 10 days later… I rang the hospital during this time to say i think i passed the sac, but when i was scanned i hadnt!! So with the 3/4 days bleeding before first appointment, the 7 days wait to check dates, plus the 10 days, it was 3 weeks bleeding in Total!
Now remember this was my choice, not to have the D&C. There was a bit of a panic when the sac was still there and the midwife rang down and got me booked in for a D&C 2 days later, the doctor in the EPU checked my temp and blood pressure and got onto the phone, i was taken down in minutes for an Emergency D&C!
Scole1 had my ds1, my dh didnt even have her number or know where she lived, i didnt even get to see my dh before i went down, it was all very rushed….. and thank God it was, i had an infection in my womb and when i woke i was told i have my system flushed with antibiotics.
I cant fault the OLOL and the quality of care was second to none, but after this case it made me stop and think how lucky that Doctor was there and demanded i was taken down ASAP
If a baby hasnt a chance of living, then the doctors should have the right to do their job without the fear of going to prison! Savita died to protect the life of a dying baby, its not right and the laws need to be changed…. whether or not your for or against Abortion, i dont think this is the case, i think if the mother and unborn baby is in the care of the hospital for medical reasons, i think the doctors have the right to do what they have to do to save the life of the mother first and foremost
RIP Savita…. i hope your death wasnt in Vein

[mammycool]

This is a very volatile subject at the moment. I do not see emergency treatment for a woman as being an abortion. It is part of the law that a woman who is in danger get whatever treatment is necessary. Although we will never know the full facts of what went on – it could be that someone made a huge mistake and did not realise just how dangerous thesituation was. I cannot believe any doctor would just let a woman die.

[pookie2]

This is a very emotive subject.

So, my cards on the table:

I think that no woman should be in danger because of treatment being refused because she is pregnant – end of story

I have never had a miscarriage, thank God, & sympathise with those of you who have been bereaved in this way..

I’m not comfortable with the ldea of a liberal abortion regime, but think we need clarity about when & what is allowed. Life isn’t always black and white. I’ve three little boys & they need me & if it ever came to a toss up between my life & that of my unborn baby, I think I’d want it to be me, selfish & all as that sounds. And I say that as a pregnant woman…

However, if I could just add two comments.

Firstly a question:
I understand that Savita died of blood-poisoning, basically, & that she wasn’t given antibiotics for a day or two. Without a clear investigation into her death, is it not jumping the gun a bit to say that it was the failure to terminate the pregnacy rather than the failure to give antibiotics that caused her death? I’m just a bit alarmed at how this jump has been made in the media without any cold analysis of the facts. (Or have I missed something??? Distinct possibility!)

I also heard a commentator on the radio – and I don’t know if this is true – saying that in the UK about one woman a week dies from this type of blood-poisoning in pregnancy / miscarriage. Anyone out there know FACTS about this?????

Secondly, my Scandanavian sister-in-law miscarried in Scot last year (ie baby died), but she was left ‘pregnant’ for some MONTHS because the blood supply to the placenta hadn’t stopped & a DnC could have resulted in severe bleeding & a hysterectomy. Very rare circumstances, ~I know, but just mentioning in light of miscarriage stories above.

That’s it. I’m afraid Solomom would struggle with an issue like this…

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