SA mum Rachael Bartholomew Giles suffers massive blood loss after C-section at Port Pirie hospital
A first-time mum says she almost died from massive blood loss after a traumatic C-section at a regional hospital — and now she’s breaking her silence.
SA News
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A Port Pirie first-time mum says she’ll never give birth at her local hospital again after a traumatic C-section left her bleeding profusely and fighting for her life.
Rachael Bartholomew Giles went into labour on April 26, her baby’s due date.
With her son in breech position and labour stalling, doctors moved quickly and performed an emergency caesarean at Port Pirie Health Service the following day.
Her son, Tyler David Rogers, was born healthy — but Ms Giles says things took a terrifying turn almost immediately after the birth.
“I thought I was completely fine until my partner and midwife told me my eyes went into the back of my head,” she said.
“I went completely white and purple, was gushing blood and clotting bad.”
When she regained consciousness, the young mum says the first thing she saw was her midwife pulling out “handfuls of clotting blood” from her body.
“At that time, I had lost about two litres of blood … I don’t know why the surgeon that worked on me didn’t bother to take me back into theatre to see what was wrong,” she said.
Instead, she says arrangements were made to fly her to Flinders Medical Centre in Adelaide, a transfer that took roughly an hour.
Once she arrived, they rushed her into emergency surgery where doctors discovered a “nicked artery and a massive womb bleed.”
“I lost litres of blood … I could’ve died,” she said.
“It was scary once everyone told me what had happened.”
The recovery was just as brutal. She couldn’t eat or walk for five days, and was bedridden, hooked up to antibiotics and painkillers to prevent infection while doctors ran constant tests to monitor her condition.
When she asked to be transferred back to Port Pirie to recover closer to home the request was denied.
“They apparently didn’t have the staff and equipment and antibiotics that I needed so I had to stay in Adelaide for a week before I got to finally come home,” she said.
Nearly five weeks on, Ms Giles is still recovering at home — and says her trust in her local hospital has been shattered and she plans to lodge a formal complaint.
“If I decide to have another baby I’m going straight to Adelaide,” she said.
In response to concerns about Ms Giles’ case, Yorke and Northern Local Health Network chief executive Roger Kirchner said all decisions about treatment and transfer were made in line with clinical recommendations.
He said treatment and recovery in Adelaide were recommended as the best course of action.
“When a patient experiences complications and their condition deteriorates to the extent of exceeding the safety threshold, advice is sought from tertiary centres in Adelaide that may have higher capacity to provide the required level of care,” he said.
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