In a heartbreaking case, Omoniyi Komolafe unexpectedly gave birth to twins after being misinformed by her gynaecologist that she had miscarried. An inquest revealed that Mrs. Komolafe, who was undergoing IVF treatment, believed she had lost her pregnancy.

Months later, Mrs. Komolafe gave birth to twin girls at home, shortly after being released from the Royal Hospital. Tragically, due to their gestational age of just 19 to 21 weeks, the infants, known in court as 'Twin 1 Komolafe' and 'Twin 2 Komolafe', did not survive.

The circumstances surrounding their deaths were examined during an inquest at Rochdale Coroner's Court. In April 2023, Mrs. Komolafe and her husband, Ambimbola Komolafe, began IVF treatment with Dr. Edi-Osage at the private clinic Aurora.

After weeks of preparation, they traveled to Lagos, Nigeria, in September 2023, where Mrs. Komolafe underwent embryo transfer due to difficulties in finding Afro-Caribbean donors in the UK.

On September 30, three embryos were transferred, and Mrs. Komolafe was advised to wait a few weeks before taking a pregnancy test. When she finally did, all four tests confirmed that she was pregnant.

Excited, Mrs. Komolafe scheduled a scan with Dr. Osage. Up until her appointment on November 3, 2023, she reported no significant issues. However, the scan revealed a devastating problem.

During the court proceedings, Mrs. Komolafe explained, "We went into the examination room and Dr. O did the scan and he said he couldn't locate any foetus." Senior Coroner Joanne Kearsley confirmed, "Following that scan you were told that there was no pregnancy, is that correct?" Mrs. Komolafe affirmed, "Yes."

When asked if a further pregnancy test had ever been suggested, she replied no. She mentioned that there was to be another virtual appointment to discuss their IVF options, but she was devastated by the news of what she thought was a miscarriage and did not attend.

Mrs. Komolafe recounted, "We didn't attend the appointment because we were still so crushed by the news, having done the pregnancy test that was positive and then the scan saying negative." In the following weeks, she experienced some symptoms and continued to believe she had miscarried.

On January 30, 2024, she was admitted via ambulance to Royal Oldham Hospital with abdominal pain, a cough, and a fever. Triage was done at 12.11pm, and after an assessment, she was transferred to Dr. Tom Parish, who later admitted he was unaware of any blood tests indicating her pregnancy.

Dr. Parish discharged her with antibiotics, stating that had he known she was pregnant, he would have referred her to gynaecology, "At that time I didn't have that suspicion."

After returning home, Mrs. Komolafe began experiencing intensified pain, leading to another ambulance call at 20.50. Unfortunately, by the time paramedics arrived eight minutes later, she had given birth to a baby girl, followed by a second girl.

Despite immediate efforts to rush them to Royal Oldham Hospital, the infants did not survive. Dr. Gemma Petts, a paediatric pathologist, estimated that they were born at between 19 and 24 weeks gestation.

Coroner Kearsley concluded that the infants died from natural causes, citing extreme prematurity and Acute Maternal Chorioamnionitis, an infection of the amniotic sac often leading to premature labour. She noted that the level of prematurity meant that even if Mrs. Komolafe had not been discharged, the tragic outcome would have been the same, stating, "Despite the improper discharge I am satisfied that the outcome could not have been avoided."