BUNBURY, WESTERN AUSTRALIA — A mother has described the heartbreaking moment she woke from a coma to discover her baby boy had died at birth after she was given 10 times the prescribed dose of morphine at the private St John of God Hospital in the West Australian town of Bunbury, south of Perth.
Key points:
- The expectant parents arrived at the hospital for what they described as an uncomplicated pregnancy
- The expectant mother was given morphine as she went further into labour, but fell into a coma after being given too much
- The baby died and the mother was put into intensive care as her body reacted to the massive overdose
The mother was given 100 milligrams of the drug during labour instead of 10 milligrams to ease the pain, at St John of God Hospital on December 10, 2020.
“It was devastating. It just broke my whole life,” the mother said.
St John of God Health Care has already concluded: “On the available information at this time, it appears that the incident was caused by human error”.
A midwife has been stood down and her registration suspended by AHPRA. Another staff member has resigned.