Woman Who Had IVF Died Four Days After Falling Pregnant

Woman Who Had IVF Died Four Days After Falling Pregnant

PA

Emma Draper was so desperate to become pregnant that she lost five stone so she could have IVF treatment.

But just weeks after the treatment helped her dreams come true, Emma was taken to hospital with stabbing chest pains and died from multiple organ failure and a massive stroke in hospital.

Emma, 26, from Dagenham, Essex, had been trying for a baby for two years with husband Peter so they were delighted when the IVF worked almost immediately

But just 18 days after starting the course, and four days after her pregnancy was confirmed, she died.

Tests showed her death was caused by a fatal combination of the IVF treatment and a rare blood condition Emma had suffered all her life.

Her devastated widower, Peter, 33, is now taking legal action against hospital bosses claiming his wife was not warned of the risk.

Peter said: "When she died, I kissed her on the forehead and said 'I love you so much, I always will'. I felt as if my life had ended too. I didn't want to live without my Emma."

Emma had antiphospholipid syndrome which left her at risk of fatal blood clots. She was taking blood-thinning warfarin but switched to a less powerful drug after being told it could damage the foetus.

She was admitted to Papworth heart hospital in Cambridgeshire four days after the positive pregnancy test in June 2010.

The personal shopper fell into a coma and had a stroke leaving doctors no choice but to turn off her life support machine.

An inquest ruled that she died of natural causes after her blood condition developed into a catastrophic form following the IVF treatment at Bart's Hospital, London.

But Peter, a van driver, said: "I can't help feeling angry. Blood specialists warned us there was a risk of clotting but nobody told us that IVF could be life-threatening.

"If we'd known there was a chance she might die, we would have adopted."

A Bart's statement said: "Our thoughts are with the Draper family at this difficult time. An inquest found that Emma died from natural causes, which presented as a rare complication of preexisting disease and fertility treatment."

Close