The fiance of a Queensland woman who died while giving birth from a rare but severe pregnancy complication has called for more research into the condition.
Kymberlie Shepherd, 26, died shortly after giving birth to son Kyden in a Perth hospital on October 16 with partner Wayde Kelly by her side.
The cause of her death was a rare amniotic fluid embolism (AFE), a leading cause of maternal mortality in the developed world.
It cannot be either predicted or prevented.
It occurs when amniotic fluid or fetal material enters the maternal bloodstream, possibly by passing through tears in the fetal membranes.
Mr Kelly has called for more research into AFE to better understand the disease.
“For me, I can’t deal with what I need to get through because I don’t still know enough about what took her away from us,” he said.
“It’s rare and unexpected, but so is a snakebite but they’ve got anti-venom for that.
“She was holding my hand, they went to get oxygen for her and she let go… it’s something you can’t unsee.
“Every morning I’ve woken with that image in my head.”
Mr Kelly also hit out at those in the medical profession who brushed AFE off as ‘nothing to worry about’.
“To those people, if they’ve seen what I’ve seen it’s not something they’d think about saying,” he said.
“I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy. Not something you’ll ever be able to forget.
“I understand it’s rare but it’s still a leading cause of maternal death in Australia … if that’s not something to be worried about then what is?”
“It’s killed more people in Australia than Ebola, even in the past two weeks.”
Hundreds remember Kymberlie
Kymberlie’s funeral will be held at Mudgeeraba on the Gold Coast today.
It was where she grew up, went to school, and eventually met her future fiance.
Mr Kelly and she became a couple in 2009, moved to London together for a couple of years before returning to Australia in 2012.
They took up residence in Perth where Mr Kelly was a PE teacher and Kymberlie co-ordinator of the dance and cheerleading program at Safety Bay Senior High School.
“She was the loveliest, kindest, most caring person. She was always looking after everyone else, always had a smile on her face and a laugh wasn’t too far away,” Mr Kelly said.
“She was unreal.”
Ben Snape, who went to high school with Kymberlie, has helped to arrange a public memorial at Kurrawa tomorrow.
He was expecting more than 50 people, most of them classmates from Merrimac State High School, to attend.
“I just thought that it was a great idea to bring everyone together to remember an amazing person who lived life to the fullest,” Mr Snape said.
“Her laugh was infectious, and could be heard from a very long way away.”
Similar memorials have already taken place in Perth, run by grief stricken students of Ms Shepherd.
An online fundraiser to assist Mr Kelly and Kyden in their future has generated more than $23,000.
AFE leading cause of direct maternal death in Australia
Deaths from complications of pregnancy and childbirth are rare among Australian women, with less than 100 maternal deaths reported in Australia over a five-year period.
According to the latest report on maternal deaths from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, there were 99 maternal deaths between 2006 and 2010.
They equated to a rate of 6.9 deaths per 100,000 women who gave birth in Australia.
AFE was identified as the leading cause of direct maternal death, accounting for nine deaths.
AFE occurs during pregnancy, most often before, during or shortly after delivery and during both vaginal and cesarean births.
Professor Leonie Callaway, the Queensland representative for Australasian Maternity Outcomes Surveillance System and a senior staff specialist at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, said it was difficult for researchers to get funding to investigate AFE because it was so rare.
“If you think about heart attacks in men, there’s a foundation, bucket loads of money and every time someone does economic analysis of heart disease it attracts a huge amount of funding,” she said.
“If you look at some of these catastrophic pregnancy conditions … there’s not been a single new drug to treat in the last however many years.
“Overall, research into severe events in pregnancy could do with a little more attention.”