Inquest Rules Unsafe Home Birth Caused Baby's Death

A seven-day-old baby girl died in 2022 following complications during a home birth in north London that an inquest ruled was unsafe and conducted against medical advice, with the overseeing NHS trust failing to adequately inform the mother of the risks or manage key warning signs.

Poppy Hope Lomas passed away at University College Hospital in central London on October 26, 2022, one week after her birth at her family's home in Enfield. The delivery was handled by Edgware Midwives, the home birth team affiliated with Barnet Hospital and part of the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust. Senior Coroner Andrew Walker, delivering his findings at Barnet Coroners Court, determined that Poppy suffered a severe hypoxic ischaemic brain event in the 30 minutes before her birth, caused by a lack of oxygen to the brain. This led to her rapid deterioration and transfer to the hospital, where she could not be saved.

The inquest heard that Poppy's mother, Gemma Lomas, had given birth to her first daughter, Willow, by caesarean section in 2018. Despite this history, Ms Lomas was encouraged by midwives, including head midwife Alice Boardman who attended the birth, to pursue a vaginal birth after...