Tag: Stillbirth Compensation

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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.

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Royal Bolton Hospital Reduces stillbirth Rate

It was quite heartwarming to read online recently that the Royal Bolton Hospital have reduced the number of babies who are stillborn.

According to the Bolton News, there are 3.5 stillbirths per 1,000 – down from 12 in January and there were no stillbirths in January this year, compared to 4.3 across the region. The hospital is apparently two years ahead of the national schedule.

The Chairman of the hospital acknowledges that whilst some stillbirths are unpreventable, others are caused by smoking in pregnancy, growth restriction, reduced fetal movement and the monitoring of CTG in pregnancy. On a professional note, I have sadly handled many cases involving the later three causes of stillbirth with monitoring of CTG (primarily lack of or poor interpretation of) being the central allegation in the stillbirth cases that I handle.

To try and reduce their stillbirth rate, the hospital have provided extra training to Midwifes in relation to fetal movements (supporting mums), tested the level of carbon monoxide levels in women, invested in Dawes-Redman CTG monitors to provide enhanced monitoring and they have trained more staff to scan small babies.

Stillbirth (and neonatal death) receives a lot of negative press in the media in relation to our dire statistics and lack of major improvements. In this vein, it really is amazing to see that some Trusts are investing time and resources into reducing the stillbirth rates and ensuring that as few parents as possible experience the gut wrenching pain of losing their much loved and wanted babies.

I just hope that the wonderful achievement of the Royal Bolton Hospital in relation to the reduction of stillbirth rates are mirrored by other hospitals too. Fingers and toes crossed……


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.

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Campaign for Safer Births

I recently came across “Campaign for Safer Births” an organisation set up by two mothers in memory of their sons, Louie and Harry, both of whom died as a result of negligence during labour.

The Campaign’s mission is to improve NHS Maternity Services in order to reduce the avoidable deaths and injuries of babies and mothers during labour.

They highlight the scale of the problem on their website

http://www.campaignforsaferbirths.co.uk/page1.html, providing the following data:

* Over 500 babies are dying unnecessarily every year in labour or soon after, Perinatal Mortality Report 2009, Centre for Maternal and Child Enquiries 2011 & ITV Tonight programme

* The cost of litigation relating to obstetric mistakes was £3.1 billion over 10 years to March 2010. Obstetrics is the highest area of litigation by cost, NHS Litigation Authority Report: Ten Years of Maternity Claims An Analysis of NHS Litigation Authority Data, October 2012

* The UK has very poor stillbirth rates – 33rd out of 35 similar high income countries, V Flenady et al. Stillbirths: the way forward in high-income countries. The Lancet 2011, Vol. 377, Issue 9778, Pages 1703-1717

* Having a baby through the night or at the weekend is associated with a 45% increased risk of neonatal death due to oxygen starvation during the birth. This is thought to be due to poor staffing and junior doctors being left alone, even though 70% of babies are born through the night 38 D Pasupathy, A Wood, J Pell, H Mechan, M Fleming, GCS Smith. Time of birth and risk of neonatal death at term: retrospective cohort study, BMJ 2010

* Overstretched maternity wards having to turn women away – An RCM report found more than half of NHS trusts had to close their door an average of seven times a year, Royal College Midwives: State of Maternity Services Report, 2012

* Lack of Consultant cover –Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) agree that 24/7 consultant cover is required urgently

* Hospitals not consistently following national NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) guidelines – procedures and staffing levels

* Midwife numbers not keeping pace with the rising birth rate

* Lack of quality control and monitoring both internally and externally and lack of Coroner involvement – Coroners are involved in all deaths that are sudden, unexpected or due to neglect, except for babies dying at birth. Why?

* Hospitals not disclosing their mistakes and therefore not learning

The facts and statistics speak for themselves. Urgent change is required to reduce our unacceptably high 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.