A Stoke-on-Trent mum died from multiple organ failure just three weeks after giving birth, a coroner has heard.

Joanne Sellars' son was born by caesarean section on May 1 2024 – but she suffered two cardiac arrests later in the month and died on May 23, aged just 32.

The St Aidan Street resident had a number of pre-existing health conditions including asthma, type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure, the inquest at Swann House, Stoke, was told on Monday (March 30).

She was on medications including ramipril, which is not recommended for pregnant women. But this was not stopped until she was more than 20 weeks pregnant as she had not known she was expecting a baby, consultant gynaecologist Radha Indusekhar told the court.

The inquest heard Miss Sellars' medications for diabetes and cholesterol were changed when it was known she was pregnant and she was placed on aspirin to reduce incidents of preeclampsia, a serious blood pressure disorder.

She was put on a "high risk antenatal pathway" and seen at the diabetic antenatal clinic during her pregnancy.

Following her son's birth, there were no initial concerns and observations of Miss Sellars were "stable". But on May 3 she was noted to have developed tachycardia – a raised heart rate – and her haemoglobin level was lower than normal, for which she was placed on iron tablets.

The tachycardia persisted for five to six days, but on May 10 her heart rate was found to be below 100 beats per minute and she was discharged from Royal Stoke University Hospital.

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She had been restarted on ramipril on May 8, as well as being prescribed clexane injections to administer herself daily to prevent blood clots.

Miss Sellars was seen by a midwife on May 11 while she was at a mother and baby unit and advised to go to triage due to high blood pressure and a weeping wound.

She was prescribed antibiotics, advised to clean the wound and a swab was taken, which revealed five days later on May 16 that there was no ongoing wound infection.

On May 12 she was assisted by a support worker to go shopping and collect her prescription. And on May 13 she decided to leave the unit and return home, the inquest heard.

Physician associate Gursharan Mann, based at Loomer Road Surgery, told the inquest she had contact with Miss Sellars on May 14 and 15. The first appointment was a telephone consultation, where Miss Sellars was assisted by her partner Richard Potter.

Ms Mann said: "Her mood had been up and down but she was generally feeling OK – she was living with her partner and finding support from that. She was evidently emotional when talking about her son.

"We talked about what options were available to her and she felt talking therapy would be most beneficial. We talked about the wound and they did say the redness had been improving."

Miss Sellars was given "safety netting advice", Ms Mann said, to get back in contact if anything got worse. But at that point no formal follow up was agreed.

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The following day, May 15, Ms Mann was supervising a physician associate apprentice clinic attended by Miss Sellars. She had a dry cough, nasal congestion and reported shortness of breath and chest tightness, but no specific chest pain, coughing up of blood or leg swelling.

Ms Mann said: "During the consultation she admitted feeling stressed and anxious and when talking about her son was very emotional. She seemed to be breathing a bit hard and hyperventilating – the episode was very short lived and it made me wonder if the shortness of breath may be more of an anxiety attack at the time."

Examination revealed Miss Sellars' temperature and heart rate were within normal range, but her blood pressure was "a bit elevated", the inquest heard.

Her caesarean section wound had a "little bit of redness", but appeared to be healing and intact, and she was advised to continue her course of antibiotics, as well as being asked to monitor her blood pressure at home.

The coroner heard that since Miss Sellars' death there have been changes at the surgery to the type of patients seen by physician associates, who are medically-trained healthcare professionals who support doctors in diagnosis and management of conditions.

They no longer see pregnant women or those who have given birth within the past three months.

The inquest continues.