Jennifer Cahill, 34, and her newborn daughter Agnes both died in 2024
Eliana Nunes and Helena Vesty NHS, social care and patients reporter
10:01, 14 Oct 2025
Jennifer Cahill.
A mum and her newborn daughter tragically passed away within hours of each other following a home birth, an inquest has heard.
Jennifer Cahill, 34, sadly died the day after giving birth to her second child, Agnes. The baby girl lived for four days before she also tragically passed away.
The heartbreaking events unfolded on June 3, 2024, at the family home of Jennifer and Rob Cahill in Prestwich, Bury, Greater Manchester.
Following their deaths, hospital trust staff described the decision to have a home birth as “out of guidance” and “against advice”, citing concerns based on the birth of Jennifer’s first child. However, Rob claimed these phrases were never communicated directly to the couple.
Rob and Jennifer Cahill
Rochdale Coroners court.(Image: NQ / SWNS)
“I never heard that terminology until after the event,” he told the court, reports the Mirror.
In court on Monday, Rob recounted the devastating moment he had to call 999 at around 6.45am on June 3, when baby Agnes was born unresponsive and could not be revived despite the nurse’s resuscitation attempts.
He then accompanied Agnes to the hospital, where he later learned that his wife – described by her family as the “queen of acts of kindness” – was also being rushed to hospital after suffering complications during the birth.
The inquest, held at Rochdale Coroner’s Court, has not yet heard the causes of death for either Jennifer or Agnes.
Rob said: “We held Agnes’ first and only birthday party as she neared the end. I held her and told her how much her mummy and brother loved her, and I said goodbye.
“When I think of Agnes, I’m just happy I got to spend any time with her at all, after everything that happened that week – she was our comfort, and I’ll never forget that.”
Community midwife Caroline Nixon, who saw Jennifer the most during her second pregnancy, confessed in court that “an ‘out of guidance referral should have been made to a senior midwife” due to her high-risk status.
The devastated father told the court that this might have led Jennifer to rethink a home birth.
Jennifer, originally from Worcester, met her husband while in her final year at the University of Manchester in 2011. They tied the knot in 2018 and welcomed their first child, Rudy, in 2021.
The couple were thrilled to be expecting a sibling for Rudy.
However, after giving birth to Rudy, Jennifer had suffered a postpartum haemorrhage, losing more than 800ml of blood due to an episiotomy and tear and Rudy being a large baby.
Jennifer and Rob Cahill. (Image: Facebook)
Jennifer Cahill.
She required a blood transfusion and, as a carrier of group B strep, faced the risk of passing the infection to her newborn. Rudy subsequently suffered sepsis.
Because of these complications, Jennifer was referred to a consultant at North Manchester General Hospital, run by Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT), to develop a delivery and treatment plan for her second child.
The strategy, supervised by Dr Rice, recommended that Jennifer opt for a “hospital birth” with “active management”, including a medication drip to minimise the risk of haemorrhaging whilst delivering the placenta, the court was told.
Ms Nixon stated that she had also discussed these risks with Jennifer during midwife appointments in December 2023. However, by February 2024, Ms Nixon revealed that Jennifer had informed her of a revised birth plan, which included a home birth.
Rob detailed how the “traumatic” birth of Rudy left Jennifer feeling apprehensive about giving birth in a hospital. She believed that having two midwives at home could offer better support and a more tranquil environment for her second delivery, reducing stress for both her and the baby.
Ms Nixon said she adhered to trust policy by referring Jennifer to Dr El-Adwan, as “she was a high risk lady requesting a home birth”, which deviated from the initial birthing plan. This involved swapping injections for the suggested drip to prevent bleeding.
The midwife expected Jennifer to discuss the medical and logistical concerns with the doctor, such as the risks of transferring to hospital if complications occurred.
After consulting with the doctor, Jennifer remained committed to a home birth. But Ms Nixon said she continued to “review the risks and plan with her”.
She added that she never specifically addressed that the choice to have a home birth was against medical advice.
When questioned by Coroner Joanne Kearsley, Ms Nixon responded: “we were told we had to respect women’s choices” during training provided by the hospital trust.
The trust would not refuse “any lady who wanted a home birth, so community midwives were becoming increasingly anxious about ladies being higher risk” which had been “raised verbally to senior leaders”, the court was informed.
“All community midwives were concerned about high risk ladies having home births. That’s not what we were trained for. We were trained to look after low risk ladies in home births,” Ms Nixon stated. “[The risk of death] wasn’t something you were ever told to talk about with ladies.
“Out of guidance” was also not a term frequently used at the time, according to Ms Nixon, who added that direct phrases like “this is against medical advice” were to be avoided by midwives, as this was the consultant’s role.
When asked by the coroner if she believed Jennifer fully understood the risks, Ms Nixon answered “yes”. However, she conceded that she should have referred Jennifer back to a doctor once she declined to be tested for group B strep, which can come and go from the bodies of carriers, as this was another decision considered ‘out of guidance’.
Rob stated that his wife’s medical notes throughout her pregnancy never mentioned the phrase ‘out of guidance’ regarding her choices or her birth plan.
“I was aware that the hospital’s preference was that she had a hospital birth, my understanding was that it was related to her being a strep B carrier in case that came up,” Rob shared, reflecting on his discussions with Jennifer following her doctor visits. “The emphasis was on the strep B, not postpartum haemorrhage.”
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