Post-mortem reveals how Elizabeth Wairimu died after giving birth at PGH

Elizabeth Wairimu Njoroge, the 27-year-old woman who died at Nakuru County Teaching and Referral Hospital, experienced respiratory distress before her death, a post-mortem has revealed.

This, according to Dr Titus Ngulungu who conducted the postmortem on her body, was the cause of Ms Wairimu's death.

Respiratory distress, Dr Ngulungu says,  is a condition where the body struggles to get enough oxygen and remove carbon dioxide efficiently, leading to shortness of breath, rapid breathing and possibly low oxygen levels in the blood.

The pathologist says they suspect the condition was the result of an amniotic fluid embolism - a process where the amniotic fluid enters the mother's bloodstream, leading to a potentially fatal reaction called an inflammatory process.

"We suspect that the inflammatory process we found in the lungs was a result of amniotic fluid embolism. This is because when the fluid passes through the lungs, it triggers a very inflammatory reaction and causes fluid to build up in the lungs," Dr Ngulungu says.

He explains that the fluid destroys the alveoli in the lungs so that when the person breathes, not all the oxygen is distributed to the body, causing breathing difficulties.

However, the pathologist notes that amniotic fluid embolism is a rare but fatal occurrence that can occur in expectant mothers during labour or delivery.

"It can occur in both normal and caesarean deliveries," says Dr Ngulungu.

Two other doctors were also present during the post mortem examination, they include Dr Issack Abdi , a consultant pathologist who was attending to the family, and another doctor representing the county government.

The hospital's medical superintendent, James Waweru, said the family was represented by Ms Wairimu's father and her father-in-law.

Ms Wairimu died at the hospital on the night of April 19 following a Caesarean section. Doctors said she developed complications during the delivery.

Her husband, Benson Kinyanjui, said he had taken his wife to the hospital the day before for a consultation as she was three weeks past her expected due date. At the time, his wife was fine and showed no signs of distress.

After learning of her death, he accused the hospital of negligence. However, the pathologists say that the autopsy alone cannot be used to determine whether there was negligence, but noted that the report will be submitted to the investigation team to determine the same.