‘Nobody should die trying to give life’: Family still at a loss as to how Géraldine Yankeu died in CUMH
Geraldine Yankeu (left) with her mother, Claudette (middle), and brother, Romuald.
When Romuald Chainey hung up the phone after speaking to his younger sister, he had no idea it would be the last time he would hear her voice.
Across the miles between Ireland and Germany, a bond which had survived the emigration of the siblings from their native Cameroon was as strong as ever.
Nine years younger than Romuald, Géraldine Yankeu was making a life in Cork with her partner Patrick and her young son. Now, in August 2021, Romuald was looking forward to big family news as Géraldine was pregnant with her second child.
At the time, Géraldine had been living in Cork City for a number of years and had attended both the Munster Technological University and the Cork College of Commerce. She worked as a customer services adviser in Cork. But despite the distance, she and Romuald remained close.
He recalls: "We used to talk on the phone as much as we could and for longer time. There was always time for her.
"The weekend conversations were longer and we could spend hours on the phone.
The following morning, his mother Claudette called Romuald from Cameroon with the unbelievable news that the vibrant 31-year-old sister he had spoken to the previous night was fighting for her life. There was also the shocking news that his long-awaited niece Mary was stillborn.
He says: "Nobody would have imagined that such a tragedy could have happened and my mother was the person who called me very early in the morning (around 6am) to inform me that Géraldine was in the hospital but in the coma.
"Prior to this information, when I saw my mum's call, I thought it was to tell that Géraldine has given birth but no, it was the opposite."
He continues: "Baby Mary was declared dead before Géraldine. So, we were still kind of having hope that Géraldine would wake up but when the doctor who checked if there was any activity in her brain said, there was no activity going on in her brain.
"I understood that there was a slim chance that I will ever speak again with my little sister, but still there was a hope somewhere."
He could not process that his little sister had no activity in her brain. For him, Géraldine had been a vibrant part of their family, being protective of him despite him being nine years her senior.
Their mother, who is now 68 years old, clung to hope until the life support machine was turned off.
After her death, Romuald remembers the effect on her.
He says: "She went two weeks without being able to say a word to anyone and was being watched by a private GP at home."
The death of Géraldine came as a huge shock, particularly as her family believed there was nothing to fear, as Géraldine was having her baby in Ireland.
Romuald explains: "We never knew that someone could die in Europe in the 21st century while giving birth with all the technology that we have."
The family had Géraldine and her infant daughter flown to Cameroon for a funeral there after a crowdfunding campaign by members of the Cameroonian community in Cork.
Romuald says Géraldine's young son travelled from Cork for the funeral. The pain endured by his young nephew remains with Romuald, as the little boy had eagerly looked forward to the birth of his sister and adored his mother.
Geraldine's family recently held a memorial service in Douala, Cameroon, for her and baby Mary.
Now, their focus is on finding out why Géraldine and Mary died. They were not aware until August this year that an inquest into Géraldine's death was mandatory.
Since the introduction of the 2019 Coroners Act, inquests into maternal deaths — during and after giving birth — are mandatory. However, Géraldine’s family didn’t know this.
In August, the was told by the Cork City coroner’s office that the deaths of both Ms Yankeu and her daughter Mary "were treated as natural and no inquest was required".
However, four days later, a statement from the office said: "Baby Mary Yankeu’s death was treated as a 'natural death'. Ms Geraldine Yankeu’s death is due for hearing and will be listed for hearing as soon as a suitable date becomes available."
Géraldine's family only became aware of plans to holdthe inquest through a report on the website.
A preliminary hearing took place in October, attended by Géraldine's sister Ornella and Géraldine’s partner Patrick Mbeng, during which coroner Philip Comyn said a decision to hold a post-mortem into her death was made after he reviewed her case file.
He apologised to the family if they were upset by a delay or lack of communication with them.
A submission hearing will take place in January.
The preliminary hearing was told that Géraldine had hypertension. An application was made at the hearing by her family’s legal team that an independent expert in hypertension in pregnancy be included in the list of witnesses to appear before the inquest when it takes place next year.
An order was made to make all medical reports available to the legal representatives of the bereaved family, including the post-mortem reports and both the internal and external review into the circumstances of the young mother's death.
Romuald is hopeful that the inquest will give the family answers. He travelled to Ireland a number of times after her death in an attempt to find out more about the circumstances leading to her passing but failed in his quest because he could not afford to engage a solicitor, and did not know what else to do.
He says: "If you see my passport, it is full of Irish entry stamps."
In relation to the inquest, he says: "Of course, it will bring more light on my sister's death and probably will help others by creating more awareness for similar situations. I believe nobody should die when trying to give life."
Since Géraldine’s death, there have been two other maternal deaths in Munster.
Tatenda Mukwata died at University Hospital Kerry on April 21 this year.
Originally from Zimbabwe, she was a resident at the Atlantic Lodge direct provision centre in Kenmare and had been granted permission to stay in Ireland shortly before she died.
Ms Mukwata is survived by her newborn baby girl, and three older daughters, as well as her parents and brother.
Less than two months after Ms Mukwata’s death, Laura Liston died in Limerick after giving birth at home, prompting the suspension of the homebirth service across the Mid-West region.
She died after giving birth to her first child, a son, at home in Croom, on June 5. The Sligo native was rushed to hospital after development serious complications following the birth.
Inquests have not yet taken place in respect of either death.
Of the 13 maternal death inquests held in Ireland between 2007 and 2022, six related to the deaths of women from different ethnic backgrounds.
