Ontario new mother dies from infection two days after birth of healthy baby boy

Adrian Ghobrial has the details of an Ontario mother who died of a strep A infection days after giving birth at a London, Ont. hospital.

As William Evans cradles his newborn infant son, with his four-year-old twin daughters, Alexandria and Anastasia by his side, the single father of three is still coming to terms with the sudden, inescapable void his family faces.

With tears in his eyes, Evans explains the heartbreaking task in front of him: “How do you tell your four-year-old girls that they’re never going to see mommy again when they don’t understand?”

On Jan. 17, Evans accompanied his wife, Celina Klinger-Evans, to the London Health Sciences Centre Hospital after she began having contractions. Following a C-section, the couple welcomed the arrival of their healthy baby boy Isaiah. Just two days later, the 29-year-old mother died.

The family says they were told the coroner’s report won’t be completed for at least another two months, though the cause of death will be listed as Group A strep sepsis.

A terrible phone call

Following the delivery of baby Isaiah, Evans says there were no signs that his wife was battling an infection.

“She was hungry, I went and got her some food. We laughed and hung out while she ate. The baby was great, she was great, the twins were great, and she didn’t feel sick at all,” said Evans.

The morning after the delivery, Evans received a phone call from the hospital that his wife had an infection. From there, Klinger-Evans health deteriorated at an alarming pace.

Her parents, Markus and Sheamin Klinger, didn’t even have a chance to say goodbye to their daughter before she died.

“By Saturday evening, it was not looking good. Then by Sunday morning, we get the news that she was gone,” said her father Markus Klinger.

Celina’s mother, Sheamin Klinger, says she’s still in disbelief.

“She was only 29 years old, I can’t believe it. No one can, not her friends or her family.”

Sepsis and Strep A

Invasive strep cases are on the rise across the country. The Public Health Agency of Canada notes that the number of positive lab samples for invasive Group A streptococcus reached 4,600 in Canada in 2023 – that’s the highest number ever recorded and a 40 per cent increase from 2019.

The infection can, in rare cases, lead to death. It can also arise following a viral illness, some doctors have a working theory that the arrival of COVID-19 and a spike in RSV cases in recent years could be, in part, to blame.

“It’s causing a perfect situation where Group A strep, post viral infection can come in and cause disease as well,” said Western University microbiology and immunology professor Jennifer Guthrie.

While rarely lethal, Group A strep can spread through the body with lethal speed.

“Even if you were able to catch it fast enough, to be able to get antibiotic treatment, by that time it may have already caused severe damage to the immune system,” said Guthrie.

CTV National News asked the London Health Sciences Centre if Klinger-Evans showed any signs of being sick, or suffering from an infection when she was first admitted ahead of giving birth. Citing privacy concerns, the hospital declined to answer our questions.

In an emailed statement the hospital wrote, “Our thoughts are with her family and with all who will feel this heartbreaking loss,” and added that “our care teams grieve these losses along with our patients’ families.”

‘She was just perfect’

Overcome with grief, her father, Markus, notes that what happened to his daughter, “could happen to anybody, it could happen to any family member” he says.

Inside Klinger-Evans' apartment, images of her most recent ultrasound still hang on the fridge, as do family photos, and a calendar with her daughters’ kindergarten meal schedule.

Her four-year-old twins, Alexandria and Anastasia smile shyly as they play quietly with their toys, looking on at their baby brother.

Sitting on his couch, Markus and her mother Sheamin share a family photo and explain that their daughter was the second oldest of eight siblings.

With the pride of a father, Markus said his daughter “embraced motherhood.”

“Even when she was a teenager, she helped with her younger siblings. She always stepped up and helped. She was a talented musician and sang in the church choir,” he said.

Asked what stories he will share with his children about their mother, Evans, now a single father of three and a widower, clears his voice.

“I will tell them how much she loved them, how brilliant she was, how beautiful she was inside and out. I will tell them that she was just perfect.”