Tragedy of mum who suffered 'massive' fatal bleed that killed her and her unborn baby girl

'Shortcomings' in the hospital care of a heavily-pregnant woman who suffered a 'massive' fatal bleed did not 'make more than a minimal contribution to her death', a coroner has concluded.

Sabine Okoma Mukanga, 28, was rushed to North Manchester General Hospital on February 28, 2021. She died later that day.

Sabine was pregnant with her fourth child. The girl was tragically stillborn. Sabine had earlier collapsed at home with stomach pains, later found to have been caused by an 'external rupture of the external hematoma of the splenic artery'.

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Her chances of survival were 'poor', an inquest at Manchester Coroners' Court heard. Two reviews were carried out - one an internal review overseen by gastrointestinal consultant Sayan Bhattacharya; and another by the Health and Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB).

Both found 'shortcomings' in Sabine's treatment. "I think no one knew what was going on," Dr Bhattacharya told the hearing. "There was no obvious bleeding from the vagina, so there was no obvious cause of the bleeding from the uterus.

"We did not know where the bleeding was coming from, in summary. The most common cause comes to mind and then we start eliminating from there."

Initially, the court heard, Sabine's case was handled by the obstetric team, which believed her bleeding was caused by her pregnancy. Coroner Zak Golombeck said that approach was appropriate and reasonable'.

Sabine's bleed, it later transpired, originated from the splenic artery. Dr Bhattacharya said treatment is difficult as the artery is deep.

"Before she came to hospital, she already started bleeding behind the back wall of the abdomen, which