The grief of losing a baby is one of the biggest losses that a mother can go through. Danielle Brown, 31, had to go through a similar situation. She was initially discharged from hospital while still pregnant, despite concerns about her condition and her baby's heart rate. After returning to the hospital and learning that her daughter had died, she was discharged again and told to book an appointment to give birth.
Danielle, a resident of North Tyneside, was seven months pregnant in February 2023 when she and her husband, Anthony Miller, had to rush to a hospital because Danielle fell sick and was later diagnosed with pre-eclampsia. She attended the Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital in Cramlington on February 12, 2023, after waking up with swelling in her face, hands and feet.
The couple went to the Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital in Cramlington, Northumberland, where medics discovered problems with Maisie's heart rate and told Danielle that she needed an immediate emergency caesarean section.
Danielle told the BBC, “Maisie's heart rate had dropped, and a midwife ran in and said, 'Don't panic, but I need to pull the emergency cord - you're having your baby."
According to the reports, Danielle was then shifted to Royal Victoria Infirmary by an ambulance, but once in Newcastle, she did not have the emergency C-section and was instead put in a ward.
A consultant obstetrician told Danielle that she’d be staying at the hospital until she had Maisie; however, the next day, a different doctor reviewed her and sent her home. This happened on February 14, despite the earlier recommendation that she remain in hospital until delivery.
Danielle felt sick soon after she returned home; she then proceeded to call the hospital and asked them that she needed to see a doctor. She contacted the maternity assessment unit on February 15, reporting severe stomach cramps and concerns about her symptoms. She also said she could not get through to the maternity unit for an hour. The doctors at the maternity ward told her that she might be experiencing a stomach bug. But she insisted that she needed to see a doctor.
After returning to the hospital, Danielle waited 90 minutes to be assessed before undergoing a scan. The trust admitted that this delay was unreasonable following legal submissions by her lawyers.
According to the reports, the ultrasound screen was turned away from Danielle and Anthony. Danielle said she remembered telling her husband that she thought the baby was no more.
They were then told that the doctors couldn’t find Maisie’s heartbeat and that she was dead.
Despite being told that Maisie had died, Danielle was discharged from the hospital again. She was handed a booklet for bereaved parents and told to book a slot to give birth. She returned to the hospital on February 17, two days after learning of her daughter's death, to deliver Maisie.
Anthony told the BBC, "It was horrible lying in bed and holding that belly, and still being able to feel Maisie but knowing she wasn't alive."
According to the reports, Danielle was admitted to the hospital two days later, and she gave birth after 10 hours of labor.
She told the BBC, "It was devastating that my first experience of holding a baby was holding my stillborn daughter."
Danielle remembered giving Maisie one last cuddle and kiss and telling her that they were sorry. She told Maisie that they wish things could have been different.
Speaking publicly for the first time about the tragedy, Danielle insisted that hospitals must never send grieving mothers home while still carrying a deceased baby.
"Don't do it," she said. "Just embrace that family and help them. Help them."
The grief did not end when they said bye to their stillborn daughter. Danielle and Anthony had to walk past other mothers who had just given birth and were holding their newborns.
Danielle said, "We should have been leaving with our baby too, but we were leaving with a memory box.”
The couple wants hospitals to provide a different route for people who lost a child during or before the delivery.
Ian Joy, the Trust’s executive director of nursing and midwifery, said, “We fully accept that aspects of the care we provided fell short of the standards the family had every right to expect and offer a heartfelt apology for this.”
The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust admitted a breach of duty and accepted that Danielle should not have been discharged on either February 14 or 15, 2023.
The trust also acknowledged that Maisie would have survived had Danielle remained in hospital during her first admission. Continued monitoring would have shown the need to expedite delivery. The family received an undisclosed compensation settlement.
The hospital stated that following a detailed review in 2023, they improved urgent assessments for women presenting to maternity services with unexpected symptoms or suspected complications, and introduced quicker escalation procedures when staff have concerns.
Legal executive Faisal Ali, from the law firm Irwin Mitchell, told the BBC, “What happened to Danielle and Maisie vividly highlights the human cost of care failings.”
Since Maisie's death, Danielle has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. She and Anthony have since welcomed a son, Harrison, who is now two years old. Danielle said that learning that care failings had caused Maisie's death helped relieve her feelings of guilt.
An NHS spokesperson told the BBC that anyone who is experiencing loss of a baby should be given full support by the maternity team.
(Rh/ARC/MSM)
