Mother, daughter die in childbirth

Pasi Harris, Fili Auva'a and Christina Mason mourn the loss of sister and cousin Malia Su'a.

The three children of Malia and Fa'afetai Su'a went to school expecting a new baby by home-time.

Instead they were told that Mrs Su'a and their newborn sister had died in hospital.

Mrs Su'a, a 30-year-old Air New Zealand ticketing officer, died in an ambulance 10 days ago from a rare complication of childbirth.

Her daughter Choir survived for only seven hours in Auckland City Hospital after an emergency caesarean delivery. Now her grieving family want to help avert other women dying from the condition.

Maternal deaths are rare: of about 58,000 births each year, an estimated 20 mothers die.

Mrs Su'a's relatives said yesterday that the Mt Roskill family's children, aged 5 to 12, were devastated and Mr Su'a was grief-stricken.

"He's a really good man and his heart has been ripped out. Malia was the life of our family," said Pasi Harris, a sister of Mrs Su'a.

Mrs Su'a died from amniotic fluid embolism, in which a mother's body has a severe allergic reaction to the fluid after some enters her bloodstream.

It is estimated to affect one in every 80,000 births, so a case may occur in New Zealand every one to two years. It kills up to 80 per cent of affected women.

Dr Alastair Haslam, the head of obstetrics and gynaecology at Waikato Hospital, said some amniotic fluid commonly entered the bloodstream, but in women with the condition "something tips it off. I don't know whether it's the volume of it. Patients present with severe breathing distress as the first sign. You don't really get any warning".

Mrs Su'a had gone with her husband to Birthcare Parnell, a maternity hospital for normal births. Her labour began naturally, although the baby was 12 days overdue.

Her sister Christina Mason, quoting Mr Su'a and a midwife, said Mrs Su'a was pushing then felt like vomiting and changed colour.

"They got her on her side and that's when she seizured."

A transfer to nearby Auckland City Hospital was arranged, but she died in the ambulance.

The baby was delivered by caesarean but later died.

The family say questions remain unanswered over the comparatively large volume of amniotic fluid detected during pregnancy, the baby being overdue and her size - 4.76kg - for Mrs Su'a's small body.