Nigerian hopes to bury his wife in Ireland after she dies in childbirth

The husband of a Nigerian woman who died in childbirth in a Dublin hospital at the weekend is hoping to bury his wife in Ireland.

Mr Taiwo Oladipo says his wife Angela was "in great form" when they last talked on the phone on Sunday night. Several hours later, Ms Oladipo's contractions began and she was rushed to Holles Street maternity hospital. She died early on Monday morning after giving birth to a baby boy by caesarian section.

The infant, Richard, is critically ill and remains on a life-support machine. The hospital described his condition yesterday as stable.

A brother of Ms Oladipo is believed to be travelling from the US for the funeral.

Mr Oladipo will tell RTÉ's Prime Time programme tonight that his wife came to Ireland six weeks ago after spending several months in London. The couple are from Ogun state in Western Nigeria, where they were married some years ago. Mr Oladipo, who is currently in an asylum centre in the south of England, says they were fleeing persecution in Nigeria.

Ms Oladipo, who was 25, applied for asylum here and found accommodation in a hostel in Harcourt Street. According to her husband, she attended Holles Street at least twice before last weekend. Partly because of language difficulties, she was unable to provide doctors with a detailed medical history.

According to the hospital, Ms Oladipo was unconscious by the time she arrived at Holles Street. She regained consciousness in the operating theatre and was stable for a time after the operation. She then suffered a cardiac arrest.

"She came very late to our antenatal care, which is a problem with many of the foreign ladies we encounter," said Ms Mary F. Moore, the assistant matron. "Some have come as late as a week before their due date."

Mr Oladipo was notified of his wife's death on Monday afternoon, and travelled to Ireland the same day. Yesterday, he met officials of the Department of Justice.

Pregnancy-related deaths are extremely rare in Ireland. There were two in 1998 and three in 1997, the most recent years for which figures are available, according to the Central Statistics Office.