A mother in labour pleaded for help before going into convulsions, an inquest heard.

Robyn Davis, from Steyning, had developed an extremely rare condition which saw her low-risk pregnancy end in tragedy.

The 28-year-old was put in a coma after her son Orlando was born severely brain damaged with no heartbeat in September 10, 2021.

A court heard she gripped the hand of her doctor and said: “Help me,” seconds before the seizures started.

The inquest heard Mrs Davis was brought into hospital from a planned home birth over concerns about Orlando’s heart rate.

Midwives looking after her had never heard of hyponatraemia which causes convulsions and is brought on by excessive water consumption.

The inquest heard from a consultant who said he had never heard of a pregnant woman showing symptoms of hyponatraemia in years of working in maternity units.

Consultant Shahzad Salim said: “In 19 years I’ve not seen a pregnant woman in labour symptomatic with it.”

Baby Orlando died two weeks later and Mrs Davis was left with life-changing injuries.

Dr Mary Guirguis told the inquest she was on her third-ever shift as a registrar in the delivery suite at Worthing hospital when Orlando was born.

The shift was described as extremely busy and Dr Guirguis said she dealt with four caesarean sections the same night.

Labour did not progress after Mrs Davis’s home birth was abandoned and her convulsions started after the decision had been taken to perform a Category 2, non-emergency, caesarean section.

Dr Guirguis told the inquest when she went into the room to get Mrs Davis consent for the operation, she thought something was wrong.

said: “She held my hand and said ‘Help me’, Dr Guirguis said.

“She wasn’t taking in anything I was saying.

“She looks different.

“She’s not there."

Within minutes, Mrs Davis was in an operating theatre for an emergency caesarean section.

Dr Guirguis said she was unable to see Mrs Davis for a two-hourly review as the unit was so busy.

The experienced doctor who started working at Worthing hospital in 2020 said she was writing her notes from a Cat 1 caesarean section when she was called to another emergency.

As soon as Orlando was born, Dr Guirguis was paged to deal with another caesarean.

“I’ve seen busy nights, but this was severely busy,” the doctor said.

The trust had no guidelines on hyponatraemia in pregnancy, Dr Guirguis said.

The policy has changed since Orlando’s death, the inquest heard.

The inquest in Chichester continues.