Midwives Show Support of Bereavement Care Project

The National Bereavement Care Pathway (“NBCP”) are seeking to improve the quality and consistency of bereavement care in NHS trusts following a stillbirth or neonatal death or other baby loss.

Please see my previous post https://stillbirthclaims.com/improving-the-quality-of-care-after-a-stillbirth-or-neonatal-death/

Whilst midwives support this initiative, they have asked for funding for training. This is a fair enough demand. The benefit of the NBCP won’t be maximised unless the health professionals running it are taught how to best offer care.

The pilot project was first introduced across 11 trusts in 2017. It has the aim of helping to ensure bereaved parents are supported in the best way possible. It also aims to end the current postcode lottery facing parents and families of stillborn babies and those who die shortly after birth (neo-natal death).

It is now intended that the project is rolled out throughout all Trusts in England.

An article in the Nursing Times states that the Royal College of Midwives said it supported the call for the pathway’s roll out, but also asked the government to help fund ongoing bereavement training and education for midwives.

Education advisor at the RCM, Gail Johnson, said: “It is clear that this pathway works, and midwives and maternity support workers also appreciate the support this gives them to provide better care for bereaved families. We support the call for this to be introduced in NHS trusts across the country.

“We would like to see the government and trusts investing in this to ensure all parents get the support they need, and to fund ongoing education and training for midwives and their colleagues,” she said.

For more information see https://www.nursingtimes.net/news/policies-and-guidance/midwives-support-call-to-roll-out-baby-bereavement-pathway/7028922.article

If you or a loved one would like to discuss a stillbirth compensation claim or neonatal death compensation claim, please do not hesitate to contact us.

A Hospital Helping Parents of Stillborn Babies

I sadly know first hand how what torture a mother of a stillborn baby endures giving birth on a labour ward. Surrounded by the cries of newborn babies it is hell.

It’s so cruel to think that in 2019, parents of stillborn babies meet their babies on the same wards as those welcoming healthy newborns.

It was really comforting to read an article in the BBC recently about a hospital in the Midlands who plan to make a separate building for parents giving birth to stillborn babies.

According to the Office of National Statistics, one in every 238 births in 2017 was a stillbirth.

In the same year, three in every 1,000 neonatal babies – those born after 24 weeks’ gestation – died.

According to the Miscarriage Association, more than one in five pregnancies end in miscarriage equating to about a quarter of a million in the UK each year.

Some of these pregnancies end up on the delivery ward.

Birmingham Women’s Hospital plans to take action and has begun fundraising for a standalone centre for families of stillborn babies and other baby loss.

Woodland House would be built on the hospital’s grounds, to help the 2,000 women and their families they see every year who have suffered miscarriage, failed IVF, stillbirth or neonatal death.

According to the BBC, a crowdfunding mission aims to raise £3.5m for Woodland House, which, if successful, will feature counselling rooms, a private garden, communal lounge for support groups and a family room.

I think this is a wonderful initiative. At the end of the day, giving birth to death is always going to amount to torture. However, anything that can be done to create better memories and make the whole experience even slightly less hellish is a positive thing. To be honest, the fact that an NHS trust has even thought about the idea is fantastic in itself.

I’ve read a lot of positive articles regarding stillbirth and neonatal death which is really pleasing as it signals a shift in opinion is respect of just how devastating and life changing it is.

You can find examples of this positivity here:

https://stillbirthclaims.com/over-a-million-pounds-to-be-spent-to-half-stillbirths-and-maternity-incidents-at-nhs-hospital/

https://stillbirthclaims.com/nhs-pledge-to-give-mothers-continuity-of-care-with-same-midwife-a-reduction-in-stillbirth/

https://stillbirthclaims.com/reduction-in-stillbirths-rates-at-hospital-in-hull/

For more information about Birmingham Women’s Hospital plans, see https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-48124991

If you or a loved one would like to discuss a stillbirth compensation claim or neonatal death compensation claim, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Over a Million Pounds to be Spent to Half Stillbirths and Maternity Incidents at NHS Hospital

It’s just so heartwarming to read on the Derby Telegraph website that more than a million pounds is going to be injected into Derby and Burton hospitals with this intention of halving the number of stillbirth and maternity incidents.

There were apparently 16 stillbirths at the Royal Derby hospital last year with the same amount in 2017 and more than double – 37 – in 2016. Last year, that’s 16 lives lost. The pattern of 16 families lives torn apart. Lives changed. Forever.

Of course, Derby and Burton hospitals proposal is part of a wider picture. The NHS has a long term plan to improve maternity care with the reduction of stillbirths and neonatal deaths – “Saving Babies Lives”.

In addition, the RCOG have also plans to tackle the high stillbirth rates with “Every Baby Counts” (see earlier blogs
https://stillbirthclaims.com/baby-counts-rcog-initiative/ and
https://stillbirthclaims.com/each-baby-counts-2018-progress-report-2/

In line with the mission of “Saving Babies Lives”, the University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust (UHDB) says there is an aim to halve stillbirths, maternal mortality, neonatal mortality and serious brain injury in newborn babies by 2025.

Nearly a year ago, the Perinatal Institute found that 19 baby deaths at the Royal Derby between 2013 and 2016 “might” or should” have been preventable.

I genuinely commend the UHBD for allocating budget to the cause of saving babies lives in reducing stillbirth and neonatal death. One cannot underestimate the effects that a stillbirth or neonatal death can have on a family (I sadly know this first hand) and to read that a Trust is prioritising this is amazing. Hopefully more Trusts will follow suit.

For more information see: https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/local-news/more-million-spent-halve-stillbirths-2870697

If you or a loved one would like to discuss a stillbirth compensation claim or neonatal death compensation claim, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Improving the Quality of Care after a Stillbirth or Neonatal Death

The National Bereavement Care Pathway (“NBCP”) are seeking to improve the quality and consistency of bereavement care in NHS trusts following a stillbirth or neonatal death or other baby loss.

Launched in 2017, the NBCP seeks to increase the quality of, and reduce the inequity in, the bereavement care provided by healthcare professionals after the loss of a baby or pregnancy at any gestation. 

The five pathways in total include:

  1. Miscarried (including molar pregnancy and ectopic)
  2. Termination of Pregnancy for Fetal Abnormality (TOPFA)
  3. Stillbirth
  4. Neonatal death
  5. Sudden Unexpected Death of an Infant

Following a ‘call for evidence’, draft pathways were created on the basis of good practice across the country. As a result, 32 healthcare settings in England have piloted the pathway over the past two years and have seen real changes for parents and professionals in their trusts. Following the outcome of the independent evaluations, the NBCP is being rolled out across England.

For more information see https://nbcpathway.org.uk/about-nbcp/national-bereavement-care-pathway-background-project

During Prime Minister’s Questions in Westminster on 15 May, the Prime Minister, in responding to a question from Antoinette Sandbach MP regarding the NBCP evaluation report released on 10 May, recognised the support that the NBCP provides to bereaved parents and urged all NHS Trusts to adopt the pathway. 

The evaluation of the NCBP can be found here: https://nbcpathway.org.uk/sites/default/files/2019-05/NBCP%20wave%20two%20evaluation%20report%207%20May%202019_0.pdf

Minister for Mental Health, Jackie Doyle-Price, had the following to say about the NCBP evaluation:

“Every stillbirth or baby loss is a tragedy and we remain absolutely committed to supporting parents through this difficult time.

This independent evaluation shows that National Bereavement Care Pathway has already helped to strengthen the support for many bereaved families across the country, but there is more to do and I would urge all NHS Trusts to adopt this approach to ensure all care surrounding baby loss meets these consistent standards.

Through our Long Term Plan for the NHS we are also accelerating action to halve the number of stillbirths and neonatal deaths over the next five years and improving access to perinatal mental health care for mothers and their partners.”

POSTED ONMAY 14, 2019EDIT”HOSPITAL UNDER REVIEW – STILLBIRTHS AND NEONATAL DEATHS”

Hospital Under Review – Stillbirths and Neonatal Deaths

I’m both sad and frustrated to be sat at my desk writing this blog. Another hospital under review. Another hospital not affording a reasonable standard of care to mothers and babies. Another hospital not meeting national targets.

Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust has received its fourth warning in eight months according to an article recently published in the Daily Mail.

The Care Quality commission (CQC) has issued a section 31 warning which means that the Trust faces closure if changes are not made.

Apparently, the most recent warning concerned a lack of staff in A&E particularly paediatricians.

An independent review is being conducted after 250 cases of poor maternity care at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust over the last 20 years. The review started in April 2017 following which many more families came forward over stillbirth, neonatal and child deaths.

It emerged that a failure to properly monitor heart rates played a contributory factor in five deaths whilst another two were found to be suspicious. Legal action taken and Inquests resulted in the finding that seven deaths were avoidable.

An investigation by the Trust found that two babies died from oxygen starvation to the brain ‘contributed to by delay in recognising deterioration in the foetal heart traces and the missed opportunities for earlier delivery’. 

In September 2018 the West Midlands Quality Review Service warned Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust about its lack of trained staff in paediatric resuscitation. 

The report noted that paediatric staff were only available ‘9am to 10pm Monday to Friday and 12 noon to 10pm on Saturdays and Sundays’. 

‘Reviewers considered that a child could arrive and need resuscitation after 10pm and that a member of staff with appropriate competences to lead the resuscitation might not be available.’

Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust attribute the lack of available staff due to a strain on the service with a rise in patients. As a result, the Trust has approved spending of over £1 million for additional staffing in an attempt to combat the problem.

I don’t understand how poor care can get so out of hand but looking at the situation with a my positive eyes, I sincerely hope that the extra staff employed will greatly improve the care given and that all those families get the answers that they are striving for.

For more information please see https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-7014485/Scandal-hit-NHS-trust-centre-baby-deaths-review-receives-warning.html

If you or a loved one would like to discuss a stillbirth compensation claim or neonatal death compensation claim, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Hospital Under Review – Stillbirths and Neonatal Deaths

I’m both sad and frustrated to be sat at my desk writing this blog. Another hospital under review. Another hospital not affording a reasonable standard of care to mothers and babies. Another hospital not meeting national targets.

Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust has received its fourth warning in eight months according to an article recently published in the Daily Mail.

The Care Quality commission (CQC) has issued a section 31 warning which means that the Trust faces closure if changes are not made.

Apparently, the most recent warning concerned a lack of staff in A&E particularly paediatricians.

An independent review is being conducted after 250 cases of poor maternity care at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust over the last 20 years. The review started in April 2017 following which many more families came forward over stillbirth, neonatal and child deaths.

It emerged that a failure to properly monitor heart rates played a contributory factor in five deaths whilst another two were found to be suspicious. Legal action taken and Inquests resulted in the finding that seven deaths were avoidable.

An investigation by the Trust found that two babies died from oxygen starvation to the brain ‘contributed to by delay in recognising deterioration in the foetal heart traces and the missed opportunities for earlier delivery’. 

In September 2018 the West Midlands Quality Review Service warned Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust about its lack of trained staff in paediatric resuscitation. 

The report noted that paediatric staff were only available ‘9am to 10pm Monday to Friday and 12 noon to 10pm on Saturdays and Sundays’. 

‘Reviewers considered that a child could arrive and need resuscitation after 10pm and that a member of staff with appropriate competences to lead the resuscitation might not be available.’

Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust attribute the lack of available staff due to a strain on the service with a rise in patients. As a result, the Trust has approved spending of over £1 million for additional staffing in an attempt to combat the problem.

I don’t understand how poor care can get so out of hand but looking at the situation with a my positive eyes, I sincerely hope that the extra staff employed will greatly improve the care given and that all those families get the answers that they are striving for.

For more information please see https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-7014485/Scandal-hit-NHS-trust-centre-baby-deaths-review-receives-warning.html

If you or a loved one would like to discuss a stillbirth compensation claim or neonatal death compensation claim, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Stillbirth isn’t Hereditary According to Scientists

Following a study of 26,000 mothers and daughters, no link was found between a mothers’ history of stillbirth and their daughters. Previous evidence had suggested that placental insufficiency was hereditary.

Personally, its very reassuring to read that stillbirth isn’t hereditary. I very occassionally think about what i’d do if my own daughters went on to suffer the heartbreak that I had to endure. It’s comforting to read that a genetic link has not been found to be a cause of stillbirth. I’m hoping that this will keep any anxiety at bay.

The University of Aberdeen ran the research project which was conducted in Scotland. No link was established between a mothers’ history of stillbirth and stillbirth in their daughters.

It’s so good to read about this study, to know that money is being given to Universities for research into stillbirth and neonatal death. It’s very hard for anybody wanting to carry out research into stillbirth or neonatal death to get the project off the ground due to a lack of available funding.

More studies please! The more research that is carried out, the more we can better understand stillbirth and neonatal death and the better positioned we will be to lower or stillbirth and neonatal death rate.

If you or a loved one would like to discuss a stillbirth compensation claim or neonatal death compensation claim, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Welsh Hospital in Special Measures Following Review – Increase in Stillbirth and Neonatal Death

An independent review of Cwm Taf maternity services describes it as “under extreme pressure and “dysfunctional”.

Special measures have been put in place prompted by concerns over the death of babies. There were 25 reported serious incidents including eight stillbirths and five neonatal deaths between January 2016 and September 2018.

According to the BBC website, the independent review found that the suspicions and concerns raised by women were not taken seriously whilst there was “little evidence of effective clinical leadership at any level”.

“Many women had felt something was wrong with their baby or tried to convey the level of pain they were experiencing but they were ignored or patronised, and no action was taken, with tragic outcomes including stillbirth and neonatal death of their babies,” the report said.

The BBC reported that further cases should be looked at – going back to 2010 – to “determine the extent of the under-reporting” of issues and to provide assurance to the health board. The review found 11 areas of immediate concern at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital in Llantrisant and Prince Charles in Merthyr Tydfil, including:

  • Often no consultant obstetrician on the labour ward, and difficult to contact
  • Not enough midwives, putting them under “extreme pressure”
  • Consultants were not always available out of hours – and would take 45 minutes to get in
  • “Fragmented” consultant cover while their roster arrangements were “complex and inflexible”
  • High numbers of locum staff at all levels
  • Staff not aware of guidelines, protocols, triggers and escalations
  • “Punitive culture” within the service and staff felt senior management did not listen to their concerns, which they had “voiced repeatedly over a long period of time”

The reference to the lack of Consultant care was something I discussed earlier today in my previous blog: https://stillbirthclaims.com/giving-birth-at-night-or-during-the-weekend-an-increase-in-stillbirth-and-neo-natal-death-compensation-claims/

There had also been 67 stillbirths going back to 2010 which had not been reported for inclusion in statistics for a national database.

It’s very saddening to read this review but equally, reassuring that safeguards are in place to ensure that concerns are investigated (even if it takes time to get to this point).

What happens going forward for now remains to be seen. I hope the families get the answers to questions they want to know and that going forward, the number of stillborn and neonatal death babies reduces and care to women being of the standard that one would expect in a first world country in the 21st century.

If you or a loved one would like to discuss a stillbirth compensation claim or neonatal death compensation claim, please do not hesitate to contact us.

My Appearance in Women’s Health Magazine – My Experience of Stillbirth

I was honoured and privileged to have been asked by Nikki Osman, a journalist at Women’s Health to feature in an article she was writing about stillbirth and its effect on women.

It’s always difficult to recount the stillbirth of Arella but it’s equally cathartic, to honour her memory and ensure that her little life wasn’t lost in vein.

I have copied the information relating to me below but the full article can be found here: https://www.womenshealthmag.com/uk/health/female-health/a26644423/stillbirth-stories/

Before I experienced stillbirth: I’ve always thought of myself as an empathetic person. As a medical negligence solicitor, I dealt with some tragic cases, including stillbirth claims. I’d listened as women told me their stories, I’d cried tears for their babies and I’d read psychiatric reports that laid bare the trauma of losing your child.

I thought I had some grasp of how painful that could be. One of the first things I thought, lying in a hospital bed a week before my due date, hearing that my baby had died, was, ‘Oh, I’m one of those women now.’ It turns out you can never know that pain until you’ve lived it. 

We chose not to find out if we were having a boy or a girl – it didn’t matter to us, we just wanted a healthy baby. I spent a few months feeling nervous, but at the 20-week scan, we were told our baby was healthy and I began to relax.

We’d just moved into our new house and my due date was three months before my 30th birthday. We bought a pram, got the nursery ready, and on a Friday in June, I started my maternity leave.

What happened: The following Thursday – a week before my due date – I had a routine hospital appointment. My mum came with me, and she was at my side when the midwife said she couldn’t find a heartbeat.

I looked at my mum, she looked back at me, and I knew. I called my husband Jonathan and told him to come to the hospital. He told me later he left everything on his desk and ran out the door. He didn’t even close his computer.

People say they’ve had the worst birth ever because the epidural failed or the labour went on for hours. I had to give birth to a child I would never know, on a ward filled with the sound of babies crying. We tried to drown them out with music, but it didn’t work, and it was torture.

She was a she, and she was born around 10pm. We named her Arella. They asked me if I wanted to hold her, but I said no. I didn’t want to know what it was like to hold a dead baby.

I regret that now, but you make the best decision you can at the time. Shortly after, I started to haemorrhage. There were times in the months that followed when I wished I’d bled to death in that hospital bed.


My life after stillbirth: My world became a dark place. I’d get out of bed each morning, but I was going through the motions. My best friends were pregnant, so were both my sisters-in-law, and I couldn’t bear to see them – or anyone else. Jonathan went back to work after a week, but he was hurting.

Men aren’t affected physically, so they’re just expected to get on with it. But he’d lost a child, too, and on top of that he had to watch his wife fall apart.

My very best friends were amazing, because I gave them the tools to be amazing. I’d send emails saying what I needed and what I didn’t. I didn’t want to hear well-meaning platitudes that I’d have another child, that this wasn’t meant to be or that someone understood what I was going through because they’d had a miscarriage.

It’s misconceptions like these that make the grief so much harder to bear. You’re not just grieving for the baby you didn’t bring home. You’re grieving the child, teenager, person they will never grow up to be; you’re grieving the memory of giving birth to death.

What I wanted to hear after stillbirth: What saved me, I think, was Jane, a bereavement midwife specialising in grief who was assigned to me by the hospital. From the first day she arrived in my life, she changed it for the better.

She got me at a time when I felt like no one got me. She understood that my desire to become a mother hadn’t died with my daughter, and she instilled faith in me that I would go on to have more children without diminishing Arella’s memory.

Some days, she helped me to normalise my feelings of anger at the world and envy towards other mothers; others she just held my hand while I cried.

I love her for giving me faith in the future at the time when I needed it most, because she was right. I went on to have three healthy children – children Jane delivered – and they are the most precious things in my life.

My life now: Since going back to work, I’ve specialised in medical negligence in stillbirth, which means it’s my job to make sure that if the NHS trust involved is at fault for a baby’s death, it is held to account. I can’t imagine what it’s like to lose a baby because of someone’s negligence, but I know how to word the letters and what it means when someone uses your child’s name.

My life is so busy now for the best reasons. I don’t dwell on the pain of what I went through, but it doesn’t go away either.

I’ve got another child who’s not with me, and I feel it. I don’t go down the road of ‘what if’, I don’t sign her name on birthday cards, and if a stranger asks how many children I have, I don’t say four. It’s too sad, too uncomfortable. But I do have four children, and only three are at home with me.

If you or a loved one would like to discuss a stillbirth compensation claim or neonatal death compensation claim, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Stillbirth Rate Could be Reduced if Better Care was Given to Twins and Triplets

A research project funded by the Department of Health has revealed that women pregnant with twins and triplets are not all receiving the care that they should be afforded.

Apparently, this poor care is resulting in 100 stillbirths a year. This is shocking to read!

Experts have also found that a failure to adhere to the national guidelines is also leading (in addition to stillbirths) to 630 unnecessary C-Sections and 1,300 infant admissions to Neo-Natal intensive care each year.

It’s logical to read that those maternity units who followed the national NHS guidelines had improved outcomes for twins and triplets and for their mothers.

What is the recommended guidance for women carrying multiple babies? In 2013, the NICE guidelines recommended the following: 1) extra scans. 2) Being cared for by health professionals who specialise in multiple births. 3) Drawing up a detailed care plan. 4) Having a detailed strategy with how to deal with a premature birth.

The Twins and Multiple Births Association (TAMBA) used the term “pot luck” to describe what level of care an expectant mother would receive. It really is saddening to read that some hospitals don’t even follow the NICE guidelines. The NHS just shouldn’t offer a postcode lottery service. There should be standardisation throughout with every woman receiving the same level of care. Multiple births are known to be high risk in nature. Therefore, to not put the suggested measures in place really is appalling.

TAMBA concluded that if all maternity units adhered to the NICE guidelines, our stillbirth rate would drop 70 per cent for multiple birth pregnancies. This would save 100 babies lives a year. It would also save the NHS £8 million an year. If there’s truth to the cliche that money talks, you’d think that this would be a wake up call for the NHS.

If you or a loved one would like to discuss a stillbirth compensation claim or neonatal death compensation claim, please do not hesitate to contact us.

New Powers to Investigate Stillbirth

As things currently stand, Coroners only have the power to investigate the death of a baby who were born breathing. This therefore prevents parents of stillborn babies who appear healthy from being able to investigate the death of their babies through the Coroner’s Court.

This may all change under new Government legislation which would enable Coroners to investigate stillbirths. It is the intended benefit that widening the Coroner’s powers to include investigating stillbirths would help prevent future stillbirths and improve maternal care.

On 26 March 2019, the Government launched a consultation on proposals to give coroners the power to investigate all full-term stillbirths . The impact of this would be massive. Not only would it provide parents with vital information on what went wrong and why, it would also ensure that any mistakes are identified to prevent future deaths.

We don’t know enough about why babies die. According to the SANDS website, 6 out of 10 stillbirths are unexplained. If we don’t know why babies die, we aren’t going to reduce our shocking statistics. Widening the Coroner’s powers would lead to more transparency for bereaved parents who are left desperately seeking answers as to why their seemingly healthy babies are stillborn.

According to the Government website, under the proposed system:

  • Coroners will have powers to investigate all full-term stillbirths occurring from 37 weeks pregnancy
  • The coroner will consider whether any lessons can be learned which could prevent future stillbirths
  • Coroners will not have to gain consent or permission from any third party in exercising this power
  • Coronial investigations will not replace current investigations undertaken by the hospital or NHS agencies

These measures are an important step towards delivering the government’s commitment to reduce the rate of stillbirths as outlined in Saving Babies’ Lives.

The consultation is running for 12 weeks until the 18 June 2019. To take part please see https://consult.justice.gov.uk/digital-communications/coronial-investigations-of-stillbirths/

If you or a loved one would like to discuss a stillbirth compensation claim or neonatal death compensation claim, please do not hesitate to contact us.