Cllr. Jimmy Kavanagh called for an automatic inquest to be held for all maternal deaths at Monday’s meeting of Donegal County council. The motion was unanimously agreed by the members.
Speaking on his proposal Cllr. Kavanagh said that one of the most tragic things that can happen is that a woman goes to have a baby and dies in the process.
“What should have been a celebration of a new life coming into the world ends instead with the tragic death of the mother and in some cases, the loss of two lives.
“Yet our legislation does not allow for an automatic inquest in the event of maternal death, as it does in the event of other sudden deaths, for example when a young healthy person is found dead, or when there is an accidental death.”
There were 22 maternal deaths between 2011 and 2013 but there were inquests for only three of the women who died.
“The fact that our legislation does not allow for an automatic inquest, in effect means that the families have to fight to get an inquest, and have to fight to get clarity, transparency and closure on what happened, and it can take them years do so.
“The experience of a mother dying in childbirth is traumatic enough for any family, without them also having to be put through the mill in their quest to get answers and closure, and remember this will invariably involve relatively young people who need to be allowed to get on with their own lives, so the procedures should be as painless and as timely as possible for them.”
The motion was seconded by Cllr. Martin Harley who said that “although an inquest would not change the tragic circumstances, it would help give closure and allow families to move on with their lives”.
