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Hundreds of thousands of people have this month read about the tragedy of Jennifer and Agnes Cahill. The case has touched huge swathes of those people, who have responded with their devastation. Now, the Manchester Evening News is searching for families to share their stories of giving birth in Greater Manchester. We want to try and take a major survey of as many people of possible, a s the region has spent years reckoning with maternity care failings. The 34-year-old mother and four-day-old baby both died after a horrific home birth in June 2024 – fuelled by complications that should never have happened. Join the Manchester Evening News WhatsApp group HERE On Monday, October 27, Coroner Joanne Kearsley determined that they would never have died without the devastating mistakes peppered throughout Jen’s pregnancy, and the birth of Agnes. Both the mother and baby’s deaths after the birth at their Prestwich home were contributed to by 'neglect', ‘catastrophic error’ and ‘gross failures to provide basic care’ . ‘Gross failures’ to provide a mother with the right information to make an informed choice about where to give birth – after she was left so worried by her previously traumatic birth experiences that she desperately wanted better. The ‘catastrophic error’ of a ‘perfunctory’ maternity care system that provided help ‘based on assumption’ and failed to ask ‘any questions’. And the ‘lack of basic care’ from a community midwifery service without the organisation, experience and equipment to deal with such a grave emergency. All of that was revealed in a two-week inquest at Rochdale Coroners Court, after hearing days of evidence from the family, doctors, midwives and Manchester’s maternity care bosses . But, over the last four years, the Manchester Evening News has extensively reported on a crisis in maternity care in Greater Manchester. All but one of the region’s maternity services is ranked as inadequate or requires improvement . Midwives have been warning of the grave dangers to mothers and babies caused by a woefully short-staffed system , borne out in damning watchdog reports. And mothers have spoken out about how they were failed by a threadbare system – leading to millions being paid out over serious injuries , and fatal consequences . And these issues are far from unique to the last few years. Before that, around a decade ago, we reported how mums and babies were dying because of bad medical decisions, poor attitude and chronic staff shortages. The M.E.N. is looking to hear your stories of giving birth in Manchester, and to hear more about the state of maternity services in Greater Manchester. If you’d like to share your story, which can be done on an anonymous basis, fill in our survey form below and our health reporter who has extensively covered these issues will be in touch.
