Five months, no answers: Family still waiting for information on mum and baby who died three days after birth

Emerald Tai and her partner Tanatui Samuels. Their seventh child was named after his father. Photo / Supplied

The family of a West Auckland mum who died suddenly at home with her newborn and seventh child three days after giving birth may soon get the answers they desperately want about the tragedy - after a harrowing five-month wait.

Emerald Tai and her baby son Tanatui developed sepsis and died in bed together in March.

Both deaths are still under investigation by the Coroner and the Auckland District Health Board.

Preliminary findings based on the post-mortem examinations have been released to the family but they are still waiting to hear exactly how Tai contracted the infection that led to the sepsis and why it was not picked up before she went home.

The deaths of Tai and her baby boy are also part of a review by the country's largest hospital after four women died during or soon after pregnancy this year.

Only one maternal death was recorded at Auckland City Hospital in three years, but the four this year include three since level 3 restrictions began on March 23.

Tai gave birth to Tanatui - named after his father Tanatui Samuels - on Friday, March 13.

The pair were discharged the next day and returned to their Kelston home.

Tai and Samuels' six other children were home with them during the weekend - and present when she and the baby died early on the Monday morning.

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Most of baby Tanatui's family had not even met him and his grandmother Susan Fa'amoe saw him for the first time when she went to identify Tai's body at the morgue.

The only photograph she has of her grandson is of him lying in a coffin.

Fa'amoe first spoke to the Herald about the double tragedy in June.

Tai's family have theories about how and why she became unwell and want to quiz the ADHB about the hospital discharge process and follow up care.

But they cannot do that until the review is complete.

Fa'amoe said waiting more than five months for the information was hard.

ADHB director of women's health Dr Rob Sherwin assured the family the review was moving forward.

"We are working through the final stages of our robust adverse events review process and are aiming to finalise this as promptly as we can," he said.

"The report from the review will go to our Adverse Events Review Committee once the review is complete.

"Once any feedback from the committee has been incorporated, we will then arrange to meet with the whānau and talk them through the findings and answer their questions which we have incorporated into the review."

Sherwin said the AHDB were updating Tai's family and promised to keep them informed.

"The purpose of the review is to understand if there was anything we could have done differently, and to ensure we have the right systems and processes in place to support high quality care," he said.

"The review panel includes an external reviewer."

Early last month the Coroner sent basic information about the deaths to Fa'amoe.

A letter on behalf of coroner Katharine Greig stated post-mortem examination results confirmed Tai died from puerperalsepsis and Tanatui died from sepsis and "unsafe sleep".

The pair were in bed together when Tai became unwell.

Sepsis is a life-threatening illness caused by the body's response to an infection.

And puerperal sepsis is directly related to maternal deaths - accounting for 5 per cent of such cases in New Zealand.

The condition can develop any time throughout the postpartum period and can be rapid.

If undiagnosed it can lead to septic shock and, in the case of Tai and her baby, death.

Fa'amoe said the months since her daughter and grandson died had been terrible.

She is running a Givealittle page to raise money for the children and help out with their future.

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