Last updated at 18:43, Sunday, 07 October 2012

A Barrow mother died days after giving birth to her first born child due to a rare disorder which fatally damaged her heart, an inquest heard.

Carly Scott died in Furness General Hospital on April 11, just a week after she gave birth to her son, George.

The 26-year-old BAE Systems employee had been discharged from FGH, but was re-admitted days later when she became unwell and her condition deteriorated.

Yesterday at the inquest into her death, the post mortem report revealed the cause of death was multiple organ failure due to peripartum cardiomyopathy – which has no known cause.

It is a rare disorder where the symptoms of a weakened heart present themselves either during the final month of pregnancy, or within five months after delivery.

Mrs Scott’s mum, Angela Herdman, of Dominion Street, Walney, said her daughter fainted several times before the birth. She added: “I thought she looked dreadful after the birth, which I did comment on and went to one of the nurses on the desk because she looked puffy and white.

“She just didn’t look right and it bothered me.”

After being discharged, Mrs Herdman said her daughter complained of a tight chest, exhaustion and her feet were cold.

Husband Nick Scott, of Beach Crescent, Walney, said his wife had fainted during a midwife appointment and her maternity leave was brought forward after she fainted at work.

He said she complained of a tight chest, dizziness and, on one occasion, “seeing stars” when she was back home in the days after the birth.

Doctor Gill Cook was the on-call consultant who treated Mrs Scott when she was re-admitted. She said Mrs Scott initially improved, but her condition quickly became worse.

The FGH cardiology department was not open due to the Easter Bank Holiday.

But Dr Cook said: “An echocardiogram would have given a diagnosis earlier, but I don’t think it would have changed the outcome, because the heart was so damaged. The timescales were so quick.”

Mr Ian Smith, south and east Cumbria coroner, recorded a verdict of natural causes.

He said: “It is an awful tragedy of a young woman who gave birth and very shortly afterwards succumbed to what is a rare but very dangerous complication of pregnancy.

“It affects the heart and is extremely dangerous, to the point where even if she had been in a specialist unit, I think the outcome is likely to have been the same.”

First published at 13:05, Sunday, 07 October 2012
Published by http://www.walneylocal.co.uk