A MIDWIFE has told an inquest how Jasmine Pickett had complained of a tight chest shortly before giving birth.

Mrs Pickett, 29, died days after giving birth at the Royal Hampshire County Hospital (RHCH) on December 21, 2007. Another woman, Amy Kimmance, who delivered her baby on the same day, also later died.

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An inquest that began at the Hampshire County Council Chamber in Winchester this morning, heard evidence from Lorraine Edwards, a midwife at the RHCH.

She said: "She (Jasmine) complained she had a tight chest when she was using the entonox (gas and air). She was breathing very quickly with it so I instructed her to breathe with longer breaths.

"She said she had had breathing difficulties when she lived in the Philippines because the humidity was very high but she had not had difficulties since she had been in the United Kingdom."

She added that after Mrs Pickett adjusted breathing, the problems began to alleviate. She said: "It seemed to go away, she did not complain of a tight chest, if she had I would have got a doctor to see her."

Coroner Grahame Short asked the midwife whether Mrs Pickett - who died after developing complications from an infection called Group A Streptococcus - had complained of a cold.

Ms Edwards told the inquest that Mrs Pickett - who she had cared for on December 20, a day before she gave birth - had not said anything about having a cold.

Mr Short then asked the midwife whether she had been tested for a cold herself. She said yes, but when pushed by Philip Havers QC -who is representing the Pickett and Kimmance families at the week long inquest - about when she took a test, she revealed it could have been up to a week after Mrs Pickett's death.