Mother forced to wear PPE while newborn son died in her arms, Covid inquiry hears

A bereaved mother was forced to wear full PPE as her baby son died in her arms hours after his birth, the UK Covid-19 inquiry has heard. Catherine Todd’s son Ziggy was born during the pandemic on 21 July 2021 at the Ulster hospital in Northern Ireland.

Chaired by Heather Hallett, the inquiry is now investigating the impact of the pandemic on healthcare systems across the UK.

Giving evidence on Wednesday, Todd told the inquiry that she did not feel safe in hospital after contracting Covid while pregnant. She said she was approaching 28 weeks pregnant when she contracted Covid during that month. She said this led to the cancellation of a routine pregnancy scan.

She later began to feel unwell and was concerned that her unborn baby was not moving but was told by the hospital’s maternity unit to take paracetamol, lie on her side and take a fizzy drink. She said: “They told me they wouldn’t bring me in at the time because they wanted to reduce the risk of spread of Covid.”

Todd said she believed she would have been seen earlier if she did not have Covid. After her condition worsened, she phoned her GP, who told her to attend the hospital’s accident and emergency department.

When her son was born, he was taken to the neonatal intensive care unit and placed in an incubator overnight, the inquiry was told. Todd said she and her partner, TJ, were brought to see Ziggy the following morning, believing that his condition was improving.

She said: “They took everything off and handed Ziggy over to me and then they just left the room and then he passed away and they didn’t come back for about two hours.”

Counsel to the inquiry Nick Scott asked: “Was that the first time you had been with Ziggy since he was born?” Todd replied: “Yes.”

Scott then asked: “Were you having to wear full PPE when you were with him?” Todd said: “Yes. We had hairnets, masks, a visor, gloves and shoe coverings. I thought that was unnecessary. At the time they knew how unwell he was. I am a bit confused why we were in full PPE.”

Asked about the impact of having to wear the protective gear, Todd said: “All of our photos we have with him are in full PPE.”

The Guardian has contacted the hospital for comment.