Those parents rightly expect the standard of medical care be commensurate with the importance of bringing a new life into being.

Tragically, for Wagga woman Sharon McManus, that wasn’t the case.

In 2010, Ms McManus was in the late stages of pregnancy with her son Cooper when she fell ill from severe gastro.

After three weeks of monitoring, and despite the desperate pleas of a midwife to keep her in hospital, she was sent home and booked in for an emergency Caesarian the following day.

By then, it was too late.

Little Cooper died during childbirth and Ms McManus was thrust into a hell not of her own making.

She tumbled down a dark well of depression she is yet to emerge from.

Post-traumatic stress, alcoholism and self-doubt have been her constant companion.

Her husband Shaun said Cooper’s death had “eradicated” his wife’s confidence and personality.

Her battle with her own mind became a battle for justice.

And in the NSW Supreme Court this week, justice – of sorts – was finally served.

Ms McManus was awarded almost $1.8 million, with the judge finding staff had made catastrophic errors of judgement that contributed to the death of Cooper.

What price a life?

How can you reconcile the loss of a child with a sum of money?

There’s no easy answer.

And yet it’s an answer the court must produce.

It seems trite to say that no amount of money will bring Cooper back, but it’s true.

We should accept, as Ms McManus’s solicitor suggested to the DA, the money will help Cooper’s family move to a healthier stage of grief.

We should also be careful not to condemn the whole staff at Wagga hospital for this one error.

Child birth is a complex operation and the hospital, populated largely by passionate and capable staff, has an exemplary record of delivering healthy babies.

Hospital management has also implemented a raft of changes to better monitor and respond to “at risk” pregnancies.

We can only hope it helps prevent a similar tragedy in future.