‘Nightmare’ birth at Mackay Base Hospital followed by ‘humiliating’ flight for Jenna McGregor

A mother whose infant son died after Qld hospital staff allegedly botched his birth said she was also abruptly discharged for a “humiliating” flight to join him, all without being told of her baby’s grim prognosis.

A mother whose infant son died after hospital staff allegedly botched his birth said she was also abruptly discharged for a “humiliating” flight to join him, all without being told of her baby’s grim prognosis.

When Jenna McGregor first laid eyes on her firstborn in Mackay Base Hospital, she felt like she “was in a nightmare”.

Despite having a low-risk pregnancy, Jenna’s terrifying experience at the Base hospital on March 11, 2023 was an alleged series of poor decisions she believes led to her baby’s death five days later.

“You follow all the rules, and someone can just take it all away,” she said.

On the day of his birth Hugo was soon flown to Townsville University Hospital’s neonatal unit with his father Andre, yet Jenna said MBH staff never explained Hugo’s truly dire situation.

Jenna McGregor said it was "devastating" to realise her baby Hugo would not survive. Photo: Contributed

Jenna instead took a “humiliating” commercial flight not 24 hours after a caesarean section, without a medical escort, from Mackay Airport.

“I hadn’t had a proper shower, looked like an absolute mess, everyone was staring at me,” she said of her walk through the terminal.

“What would have happened if I had just haemorrhaged on the plane?”

Andre McGregor and baby Hugo being flown to Townsville by the Royal Flying Doctor Service. Photo: Contributed

Though expecting to be flown north with the Royal Flying Doctor Service, Jenna said MBH staff apparently never called them.

But it wasn’t until she arrived in Townsville that she understood her baby would not survive.

“It was devastating,” she said

“I just remember falling into a heap.

“All those things that you think about when you’re pregnant, all the things you’re going to do with your baby, and that’s just all ripped away from you in one instant.”

Andrew, Jenna, and Hugo McGregor. Photo: Contributed

Baby Hugo died six months after a damning report in September 2022 found serious issues at MBH’s maternity ward after multiple women lost children in an obstetrics scandal.

Reluctantly transferred from Proserpine Hospital as they lacked an anaesthetist, Jenna then waited six hours before her requested epidural was then botched twice by a junior anaesthetist.

Both she and Andre briefly feared she had been paralysed when the needle in her spine was “more painful than the contractions” and caused her to “jolt straight upright”.

Having followed the news about the damning report, Jenna McGregor was reluctant to be transferred to Mackay Base Hospital. Photo: Contributed

After the midwife gave Jenna a second dose of Syntocinon to restart her slowing contractions, Andre noticed Hugo’s heart rate had dropped but the same midwife assured them nothing was wrong.

That was until another midwife entered, yelling “What the hell is going on here?”, and pressed the emergency buzzer.

Jenna was rushed to the operating theatre, yet a root cause analysis noted when Hugo was delivered he was “pale and floppy”.

Hugo McGregor died at just four days old after complications with his birth contributed to fatal brain injuries. Photo: 9News

“When I woke up, they just told me that my surgery had went well and wouldn’t answer my questions; where is my baby?” Jenna said.

An independent report commissioned by the McGregors found Hugo could have died from severe hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy, serious brain damage due to lack of oxygen.

By day five, machines were the only thing keeping Hugo breathing and his parents made the heartbreaking decision to turn off life support.

Jenna and Andre McGregor spent time with Hugo in Townsville University Hospital before he passed away. Photo: Contributed

Mackay Health and Hospital Service CEO Susan Gannon said she met with the McGregors to express her condolences.

She said the root cause analysis had been passed on to the coroner and the Office of the Health Ombudsman, and that MHHS would “adopt any recommendations” made.

However MHHS refused to answer further questions about the incident, citing a claims case which the McGregors say they are considering but not yet filed.

Questions remain as health authorities consider the case.

More to come.

Have you had a bad experience in the maternity ward of Mackay Base Hospital? Reach out at [e-mail]