AN ELLESMERE Port father-of-four whose wife died after taking the oral contraceptive pill wants the tragedy to serve as a warning to other women.
 Stephen Blundell hopes his wife Donna's death at the age of just 34 will make all women of child-bearing age think twice before taking the pill or getting sterilised. Mrs Blundell collapsed in their home in Raby Court on April 1, 2002, three years after she had undergone a failed sterilisation operation. She suffered deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and a pulmonary embolism (blood clot) and was taken to the Countess of Chester Hospital. Mrs Blundell was transferred to intensive care but found to be brain dead. She was pronounced dead two days later when doctors turned off her ventilator in the presence of her husband. Presiding over her inquest in Chester, county coroner Nicholas Rheinberg said: 'It is very unusual for a person to die at this age from a pulmonary embolism without there being some strong precipitating factor. 'I am satisfied that the cause of her death was the oral contraceptive pill.' Mrs Blundell, a housewife and mother of four, took the pill from 1988 until she had the sterilisation operation at the hospital on August 19, 1998. A year later she and her husband were surprised to discover she was pregnant with their fourth child. Three weeks after the birth Mrs Blundell went back on to Brevinor, a second generation oral contraceptive pill, the inquest was told. At the end of the hearing, Mr Rheinberg recorded a verdict of misadventure. Speaking afterwards Mr Blundell, 45, said: 'Women in my wife's age group must know all the facts before they consider sterilisation or going back on the pill. 'They need to be informed of any risks. I want to stop what happened to my wife and I from happening to someone else. 'People might see this happening on TV, but this is reality - it has happened to us. 'I don't want to see any other women going through what my wife did, or other husbands and boyfriends to suffer like I have.' Mr Blundell now looks after the couple's four children - Mark, 15; Natalie, 13; Stephen, six; and Victoria, three. He admits to still feeling 'a little bitter inside' over his wife's death, and is currently discussing any potential future moves with his solicitor. | 
