Hospital told mum to book appointment to give birth to her dead baby

Hospital told mum to book appointment to give birth to her dead baby Danielle Brown, 31, says she was sent home from hospital after her unborn baby Maisie had died and was just given a booklet for bereaved parents as well being told to book a slot to give birth A mum whose unborn baby died was sent home from hospital with a booklet for bereaved parents and told to book a slot to give birth. Danielle Brown, 31, had previously been diagnosed with pre-eclampsia, a serious pregnancy complication, but was discharged even though a consultant had said she should remain in hospital until she gave birth. She returned to hospital days later where scans revealed that her daughter, Maisie, had died at around 29 weeks. Ms Brown said: “When it was confirmed Maisie had died, we burst into tears. Nobody explained what had happened to Maisie. “I was just given a booklet for bereaved parents and told to book a slot to give birth. Hearing that with no compassion angered me so much.” The barista, from North Shields, North Tyneside, and her partner Anthony Miller were delighted to be expecting a baby. Seven months into the pregnancy, in February 2023, Ms Brown was treated at the Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI), Newcastle, after she felt unwell and was diagnosed with pre-eclampsia. Monitoring had also raised concerns about Maisie’s heart rate. The following day, a consultant obstetrician said Danielle should remain in hospital until she gave birth, but she was discharged 24 hours later on February 14 following a review by a different consultant. A day later, Ms Brown phoned the RVI’s maternity assessment unit with more concerns but was told she probably had a stomach bug. She insisted on being seen and returned to the hospital, waited 90 minutes to be assessed and was told medics could not find Maisie’s heartbeat. Ms Brown and Mr Miller were told that she had died. The devastated mother returned to the hospital on February 17 to give birth to Maisie following a 10-hour labour. Ms Brown said: “When me and Anthony found out I was expecting we were overjoyed. “We bought things for Maisie’s nursery, bought clothes and had a gender reveal party. It was such a happy time for the whole family. Although I knew I was at risk of pre-eclampsia, everything seemed to be going well until I woke up with swelling. “When I was transferred to RVI, I thought we’d be well looked after. A consultant told me I wasn’t well and needed to stay in hospital until I had my baby, so when I was sent home, I was concerned – but I trusted what I was being told. “When I started suffering from pain, I rang the maternity unit but couldn’t get through for an hour. When I explained my symptoms I was dismissed and told I had a stomach bug. When I finally had a scan, the screen was turned away and there was no sound. I said to Ant: ‘I think she’s gone’.” The mother has been awarded an undisclosed settlement from Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. It admitted a breach of duty and that Maisie would have survived had her mother not been sent home during her first admission. Faisal Ali, of solicitors Irwin Mitchell, said pre-eclampsia was serious and required close monitoring. He said: “What happened to Danielle and Maisie vividly highlights the human cost of care failings and how families left needing answers and access to specialist support are left trying to pick up the pieces. “Sadly, this isn’t an isolated case and we represent hundreds of families nationally affected by maternity failings. Put simply, maternity services aren’t good enough, resulting in mums and babies being put at risk because of deep-rooted problems nationally.” The couple have since had a son, named Harrison, who is two. Ms Brown said: “While we feel so blessed to have Harrison, it remains difficult knowing Maisie should be here with us too. She will always be part of our family. “More needs to be done not only to improve maternity care but also, when something goes wrong, families need proper and compassionate support. After saying goodbye to Maisie, we had to walk through a labour ward seeing parents going home with their babies. That will stay with me forever.” Ian Joy, executive director of Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Health Professionals at the hospital trust, said: “Maisie’s family have experienced a devastating loss which has undoubtedly had a profound effect on everyone who loved her. “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. "Following a detailed review in 2023, we improved urgent assessment for women who come to our maternity services with unexpected symptoms or suspected complications and introduced quicker escalation procedures when there are concerns. “National standards have recently been published for this aspect of maternity care and our services have recently been assessed as performing well against the main elements. Our priority is to make sure all standards are exceeded across the service.”