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| - A French court will on Thursday rule whether a Belgian anaesthetist caused the death of a British woman during a emergency Caesarean section that she allegedly performed while drunk. Helga Wauters, 51, is charged with manslaughter over the death of Xynthia Hawke, who was overdue when admitted to the maternity ward of Orthez hospital near the southwestern city of Pau on September 26, 2014. Hawke, who was 28, died of cardiac arrest four days after a chaotic C-section that starved her brain of oxygen. Her baby boy survived. An investigation revealed that Wauters, who was less than two weeks into the job, inserted the ventilation tube into Hawke's food pipe instead of her wind pipe. She also allegedly used an oxygen mask instead of a ventilator. A chronic alcoholic, Wauters admitted starting the day with a mix of vodka and water "like every day" for the previous 10 years. But she denied being solely responsible for Hawke's death, insisting that the ventilator, which the investigation found she had falsely claimed was not working, and other staff members were also to blame. Wauters had given Hawke an epidural local anaesthetic earlier in the day. During the birth, complications arose, requiring an emergency C-section. When she returned to the maternity ward after being called in to administer a general anaesthetic, Wauters had alcohol on her breath, according to witnesses. Hawke woke up during the operation and began vomiting and shouting "it hurts" before ripping out her tubes. A nurse on duty described the scene as being like something seen during a war. "It was Baghdad," she said. Wauters told investigators she had had a "glass of rose" wine with friends before returning to the hospital. Just after she was taken into custody, the alcohol content in her blood was found to be 2.38 grammes per litre, which typically corresponds to close to 10 glasses of wine, and is more than four times the permitted level when driving in France. Wauters had moved to France for work after being fired from her job at a Belgian hospital for appearing drunk on the job. The recruitment agency that hired her on behalf of the clinic had not checked her credentials, the investigation revealed. Hawke's parents and sister who attended the trial in October were not expected to be in court Thursday for the verdict. Hawke's partner, who is bringing up their child, is expected to attend. nal/cb/mlr/wdb
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