Moncton couple blames hospital understaffing for baby's death on night of delivery

A young Moncton couple is wondering whether hospital understaffing played a role in the death of their baby girl in October 2017.

For close to two years, Jessica Leclair, 25, and Andrew Randall, 30, have been struggling to understand what happened the night of the delivery at The Moncton Hospital.

Leclair had a normal pregnancy. On the evening of Oct. 21, 2017, she was told to come to the hospital to get induced after her water broke that morning. She was 38 weeks pregnant.

I didn't believe anyone when they told me she didn't make it.- Jessica Leclair

At 8:15 p.m., the first-time mom was placed on Oxytocin — a drug that causes the uterus to contract, often prescribed to induce or speed up labour.

But Leclair said she was then left alone for two hours despite risks the drug can pose to the baby.

In some cases, Oxytocin can cause strong contractions, affecting fetal heart rate and cutting off oxygen to the baby. It requires constant monitoring, and an obstetrics nurse present at bedside throughout.

'I thought I was going to see my daughter in the morning'

5 years ago

Duration 1:09

For close to two years, Jessica Leclair, 25, and Andrew Randall, 30, have been struggling to understand what happened the night of the delivery at The Moncton Hospital.

'Staffing issues'

In the medical file, which the couple shared with CBC, the charts where the baby's heart rate should be indicated are blank for a period of two hours.

According to the medical file, a decision is made to take Leclair off Oxytocin due to "staffing issues" around 10:30 p.m. The nurse wrote they were going to try again later if that changed.

At 1:45 a.m., Leclair is put back on an intravenous drip with the drug. This time she is monitored regularly.

We can confirm that the labour and birthing unit at Horizon's The Moncton Hospital has at times been challenged with staffing shortages, similar to many nursing units across the province.- Geri Geldart, vice-president clinical for Horizon Health Network

But throughout the night, notes recorded show a series of drops in the baby's heart rate.

For instance, at 4:20 a.m. the baby's heart rate plunged for three to four minutes, reaching a low point at 60 beats per minute. According to the nurse's notes, it was not associated with contractions.

For years, the couple has been left wondering if something should have been done sooner.

Fetal heart rate during labour normally varies between 120 and 160 beats per minute, according to the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada.

Emergency bell goes off

Leclair said there were no doctors around for most of the night. After seeing the heart rate drop for so long, the nurse called the obstetrician at home.

The doctor's notes differ vastly from hers — recording the drop only lasted 30 to 45 seconds, and that he advised staff to keep monitoring.

Then at 7:50 a.m., the baby's heart rate plummets again. By then, Leclair was bleeding.

Three different doctors are paged, but none of them answer on the first call.

Then the emergency bell went off.

Twenty minutes later, Leclair is rushed to the operating room, where she is put under general anesthesia and undergoes an emergency caesarean section.

Baby MacKenzie is delivered at 8:47 a.m. But her heart isn't beating. For 22 minutes, doctors try to resuscitate her without success.

The autopsy confirmed the baby died from lack of oxygen due to umbilical cord compression.

'Where is she?'

For most of the night, Leclair knew little about what was going on.

In fact, she remembers feeling excited about meeting her baby girl, who she expected to see lying next to her after the surgery.

"I was like, 'Well, where is she?'" Leclair remembers thinking when she woke up. "I didn't believe anyone when they told me she didn't make it."

To this day, she is convinced a number of things should have happened differently.

"There weren't enough nurses on the floor, there were people missing, there were calls that should have been made much sooner," she said.

The couple also believes the emergency caesarean should have been done sooner.

"I know something went wrong for sure," said Randall.

Hospital challenged with staffing

The couple has met with hospital officials on five different occasions since the death of their baby. But they still question what happened.

In a statement to CBC News, the Horizon Health Network said it couldn't discuss specific cases.

"We can confirm that the labour and birthing unit at Horizon's The Moncton Hospital has at times been challenged with staffing shortages, similar to many nursing units across the province," wrote Geri Geldart, the vice-president clinical for the health network.

"There are contingency plans in place within the labour and birthing unit at Horizon's The Moncton Hospital to ensure safe and quality care for our patients and their families."

In the past year, issues of staffing shortages at many of the province's obstetrics wards have been making headlines, at times forcing the closure of the units altogether.

There are close to 400 vacant nursing positions across the two health networks, leaving nurses overworked and sick leave only compounding the problem. The issue also affects physicians and specialists.