Nunavut mom to seek legal advice over baby's death

An Igloolik, Nunavut, woman whose nine-month-old daughter died despite a series of visits to the local health centre says she plans to consult a lawyer about what happened.

Lizzie Qulitalik said the health centre in Igloolik should have done more to try to save her baby, who died at home on Feb. 19.

Qulitalik said her daughter — who had flu-like symptoms, had a high fever, and was very pale — was seen by nurses at the health centre three times in the two weeks leading up to her death.

"Every time I went to the health centre, they just kept asking me to keep up with … the oxygen machine we took home and the Tylenol," Qulitalik told CBC News on Friday.

Qulitalik said she still does not know what caused her daughter's death, but she said the head nurse at the Igloolik health centre told her the baby had influenza, an enlarged liver and a urinary tract infection at the time of death.

Should have been medevaced: mother

Qulitalik said the child had urinary tract infections in the past. They were previously told that if her daughter had another infection, she should be flown to Ottawa for further medical treatment, she said.

But Qulitalik said she did not find out about the most recent infection until it was too late.

"They should have done more because that's when she was supposed to go to Ottawa," she said. "Urine infection was most shocking to me."

Qulitalik said she plans to talk with a lawyer about the incident, but she has not decided if she will take legal action against the Nunavut government.

Officials with the territorial Health Department told CBC News they are investigating.