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| Emma and Anthony Gough on their wedding day - photo © The Daily Mail |
A mother who died after giving birth to twins in hospital would have probably survived if she had agreed to a blood transfusion, an inquest heard.
Emma Gough, 22,from Shropshire, was a Jehovah's Witness and refused a transfusion because of her religious beliefs. Dr Nick Reed, a consultant in obstetrics and gynaecology, said he believed "without a shadow of doubt" she would have survived, had she had a transfusion.
It emerged in the inquest that Mrs Gough had discussed with her GP and her consultant the fact she was a Jehovah's Witness and she did not want a transfusion. She had been told what the consequences could be if there were any possible complications.
The twins, a daughter Lexy and a son Luca, were delivered safely in October last year, but Mrs Gough developed a complication. She bagan bleeding internally which in combination with her anaemia, put her life in immediate danger. She lost a lot of blood, had to go back into theatre and came out of theatre, but her condition worsened.
Throughout the process Mrs Gough and her family were told that a transfusion could save her life. But because of their religious beliefs, they refused and this led to her death, the inquest heard. Jehovah's Witnesses are automatically declared outcasts from their faith if they take blood into their body.
The coroner is expected to record his verdict later in the week
April 2008
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