Tragic death of mother and baby could have been avoided if she had gone to a rehabilitation centre

Carieanne Downs’ aim to beat alcohol addiction when she became pregnant ended in both hers and her baby’s death. Her dependence on alcohol was so strong that when she stopped drinking her organs went into failure and both she and her baby died.

Health executives have said that if Carieanne had had the correct detoxification treatment in a rehabilitation centre to gradually wean her off alcohol and deal with her addiction she and her baby may have lived.

Kevin Martin from the North East Regional Alcohol Forum (NERAF) said that going cold turkey can be fatal and the correctly prescribed drugs to aid withdrawal and beat the addiction help people to stop drinking in a safe way.