‘I just wanted my family to meet him’: Little Malachi’s heartbreaking goodbye

With 300 days since her local hospital’s maternity ward closed, a mother has shared the story of her son’s final drive home.

• Outrage: Health Minister a no show

A young mum has told of the horrors of driving from Rockhampton Hospital to her home in Gladstone with her dead baby on her lap in a box she bought from Spotlight.

Gabriella Martin’s baby boy Malachi is just one of hundreds of babies born during the 300 days that Gladstone maternity unit has been on bypass.

But the tiny boy arrived at 17 weeks and he did not survive.

Ms Martin wanted to bring her son home with her and has revealed that staff put his body in a “daggy craft box” with no lid.

“I had to wrap him in a “bluey” a shiny blue waterproof blanket that hospitals use. It was so awful. He deserved so much more,” Ms Martin who previously lost her son Malcolm, born at 18 weeks, said.

“I just wanted my family to meet him. I wasn’t able to have him in Gladstone so we had no family around in Rockhampton. I can’t fault the birth and the staff but I feel the bereavement process was not good enough.”

Gabriella Martin drove from Rockhampton to Gladstone with her dead child Malachi. Picture: Simrat Singh

Malachi was born on February 25.

“Jacob and I left the hospital within a day to take Malachi to meet his grandparents. We stopped at Spotlight on the way home and picked out a nicer box to place him in. We have since had Malachi cremated,” the distraught mum said.

“We could have left Malachi at the hospital and have him picked up by funeral service courier within a few days but I didn’t want to leave him. All the hospital had to do was the prepare him in nice way for me.”

Ms Martin is one of the many Gladstone mums who would have preferred to have their baby near their home, instead of being forced to travel 100kms to Rockhampton.

“It was an incredibly traumatic experience, you’d think that if you are going to suffer a loss, you want it be as positive as possible, surrounded by your loved ones, family, no one wants to go through that.”

Gabriella Martin shared her experience of a stillbirth during the Gladstone maternity bypass.

Ms Martin’s waters broke at 17 weeks when she was taken to Gladstone Hospital by ambulance. She was then transferred to Rockhampton and her husband Jacob drove her there by car.

Ms Martin was one of dozens who turned up to a community meeting in Gladstone on Thursday organised by the Save Gladstone Maternity Ward community to mark the 300th day of bypass.

It is estimated in the 300 days since the maternity ward has been offline at Gladstone Hospital, almost hundreds of expectant mums have been forced to travel 100km up the Bruce Highway to Rockhampton to give birth, with some even travelling 200km to Bundaberg.

Event organiser Jemma Manwaring said government ministers and health executives did not turn up.

Opposition leader David Crisafulli was in attendance, along with Shadow Health Minister Ros Bates and Callide MP Bryson Head.

Also present was Taylor Stewart who revealed she was pregnant with her second child right at the beginning of the bypass.

At the time, she had assumed in nine months time, surely she “would be birthing safely and comfortably” in her hometown.

Taylor Stewart with baby August.

Danielle Dau

Come nine months, that wasn’t the case.

“It was a three active labour and I live in Boyne Island, I wouldn’t have wanted to risk driving to Rockhampton when my contractions were every two minutes,” she said.

Taylor had to give birth in Gladstone on April 1 because baby August was coming and he didn’t care what doctors were or weren’t there.

“I ended up going five days overdue,” Taylor said.

“I think subconsciously I was stressed about the bypass, I was trying to keep a cool, calm, levelled head, deep down I think that was why I was so far overdue.”

Mum-of-three Danielle Dau shared how the bypass has affected not just the mums but the family.

“My seven-year-old … every time I leave she thinks I am going and not coming back because I was away for 10 days in Rocky waiting to give birth,” she said.

In February Gladstone maternity reintroduced 24/7 care for obstetric emergencies and in April they began reintroducing birthing for those with no known risks in their pregnancy.

Advocates continue to push for a return to full services where inductions and high risk births can be carried out in the city.

Responding to Ms Martin’s claims Dr Emma McCahon, Chief Executive, Central Queensland Hospital and Health Service said the HHS “does not publicly discuss details of individuals’ health care”.

“The loss of a pregnancy through miscarriage is always devastating, and my sympathy goes to any family who has dealt with this loss,” Dr McCahon said.

“CQ Health has procedures to support women who suffer pregnancy loss through a miscarriage.

“Our social worker is available to support families if required, and our team will reach out to Ms Martin to offer any further support she requires.

“I am proud of the maternity team at Rockhampton Hospital, and know they work very hard to meet the needs of women and families.”