Young mum dies in bath tragedy

The family of a heavily-pregnant woman who drowned during an epileptic fit plan to raise awareness of the condition

THE FAMILY of a heavily-pregnant woman who drowned during an epileptic fit say they want to raise the profile of the disease and the risks it poses.

Twenty-three-year-old Tara Jane West had never been warned about the dangers of bathing with her condition, an inquest in Newbury heard last week.

And in a tragic irony, it emerged that Miss West, of Fairfield, Compton, had been reducing her medication because she feared it could damage her unborn baby.

Berkshire Coroner Peter Bedford described the case as a “tragedy.”

Miss West's partner James Westwood told the hearing that, on the morning of August 8 last year he had left the home they shared to go to the gym while she prepared a bath.

Sarah Diggens, who lives next door, told the inquest that she had gone outside for a cigarette and heard, through an open window, Miss West tell her toddler: “Mummy's going to have a bath.”

She said in a statement that, a little later, she heard the child repeatedly crying “Mummy” but that there had been no reply.

Ms Diggens decided to investigate and, finding the door unlocked, went upstairs where she found Miss West lying in the bath on her side.

Upon dialling emergency services the hearing was told, she was advised to check on Miss West and found that her head was fully submerged.

Another neighbour, Adam Thomas, arrived and pulled Miss West from the bath.

Ms Diggens and another near neighbour, Mary Sennet, then took it in turns to try cardio-pulmonary rescuscitation until paramedics arrived and took over.

Tragically, said Mr Bedford, it was too late.

In a narrative verdict, Mr Bedford acknowledged that Miss West had been taking a reduced dose of her anti-seizure medication but noted that a therapeutic dose was in her system on the morning she died.

Afterwards, Miss West's sister Kelly, aged 25, claimed epilepsy was a forgotten condition and said she planned to campaign to change that.

She said: “Many patients are misdiagnosed; there are only 30 specialists in the country and we were never informed of how to help her deal with her condition. At her own request, the council fitted a bath in her home.

“We didn't know that hormones and stress can be risk factors. I want to raise the profile of epilesy. My sister and I had a special bond and told each other everything. We would each know what the other was thinking. I don't want others to suffer what we're now suffering.”

Their parents, Mark and Yvonne West, also paid tribute to their lost daughter, a former pupil of The Downs School, Compton, who they said was a “beautiful, outgoing girl and a wonderful mother.”

They revealed that their daughter's unborn child, named Leah, was blessed in a special service after the funeral.