Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
SCAN COULD HAVE SAVED MY BABY
Heartbreak sparks plea for more scans
A heartbroken Plains teenager claims she was told to take paracetamol for “unbearable stomach pains” just hours before enduring a devastating stillbirth.
Klaudia Cierpial says her daughter Maya Iwona Sheldon – who was delivered at just 28 weeks – “could have survived” if she had received more regular scans during her pregnancy.
Grieving Klaudia, 19, and her partner Brad Sheldon, 21, have now launched a government petition calling on the NHS to provide more scans for mothers to be during their 20 to 40-week period of pregnancy.
It has already gathered more than 3500 signatures and the backing of Airdrie parliamentarians Neil Gray MP and Alex Neil MSP.
Klaudia said: “I feel like now is the right time to say this; at first I couldn’t bear it but now I am strong enough and ready to spread the word.
“I had eight weeks to save my baby but nothing was done. We need more regular scans.
“It’s [the petition] now at more than 3500 [signatures] and the fact a lot of people are agreeing with me is very comforting.
“I hope this petition can keep Maya’s memory alive.”
A Plains teenager who endured a devastating stillbirth says her daughter “could have survived” if she had received more regular scans during her pregnancy.
Klaudia Cierpial claims she was told to take paracetamol for “unbearable stomach pains” just hours before baby Maya Iwona Sheldon was delivered at just 28 weeks.
Klaudia, 19, had a scan at 20 weeks showing her Maya was healthy – but six weeks later she began to suffer painful stomach aches and went to University Hospital Wishaw.
Medics checked for the baby’s heartbeat and advised her the pregnancy was going well, but didn’t carry out a scan.
Then on April 27, at 28 weeks, Klaudia woke up in the middle of the night with unbearable pain. She called Wishaw’s maternity triage and claims medics advised her to self- medicate with paracetamol.
An hour-and-a-half later, she began to bleed.
Klaudia said: “I had been complaining of really bad stomach pains and was told to just take paracetamol, but the pain became constant.
“I decided to go to the hospital because I knew something was wrong. When I arrived, the doctors decided to give me a scan.”
Staff couldn’t find her baby’s heartbeat and Klaudia was given the tragic news that her unborn daughter had died in the womb.
She delivered her baby two hours later. Little Maya’s umbilical cord had become hypercoiled, which can only be detected by a scan.
Grieving Klaudia and her partner Brad Sheldon, 21, have now launched a government petition calling on the NHS to provide more scans for mothers during their 20- to 40-week period of pregnancy.
It has already gathered more than 3500 signatures and Klaudia is hoping for as much support as possible.
She said: “I feel like now is the right time to say this. At first I couldn’t bear it but now I am strong enough and ready to spread the word.
“I went through a gap of eight weeks without a scan at a time when Maya would’ve been developing much quicker.
“I understand having a scan at the 20-week mark but there are time gaps between scans that are too big. Anything could possibly be going wrong with babies during these spells.
“I had eight weeks to save my baby but nothing was done. We need more regular scans.
“I am looking to spread our petition everywhere and we had nearly 200 signatures in the first two days.
“It’s now at more than 3500 and the fact a lot of people are agreeing with me is very comforting.
“I hope this petition can keep Maya’s memory alive.”
Klaudia and Brad’s campaign has received the backing of Airdrie parliamentarians Neil Gray MP and Alex Neil MSP.
Mr Gray said: “My heart goes out to Klaudia and her family. I cannot comprehend the devastation she must be feeling.
“I would be supportive of anything that evidence shows would stop preventable deaths, particularly during late pregnancy.
“The health of mum and baby is so important, so more frequent scans could be a good idea to pick up on possible problems.
“If this is something that is supported by medical experts then I think it should be seriously considered.”
Mr Neil added: “Klaudia’s petition should be taken seriously and work carried out to see if her proposals would prevent future tragedies like that experienced by her and her partner.”
Baby Maya is buried in New Monkland Cemetery in Glenmavis and the tragic circumstances of her loss still weigh heavily on Klaudia’s mind.
She said: “It was our first baby, which makes what happened even worse.
“It has been very hard and it’s horrendous what a person can go through.
“My family have been very supportive and it’s all about taking it a day at a time.”
Leah Noble, senior midwife at University Hospital Wishaw, said: “We appreciate that this must be a distressing time for Ms Cierpial following the tragic loss of her baby.
“Due to patient confidentiality, we cannot discuss any individual patient cases.
“While we haven’t received a formal complaint, we would encourage Ms Cierpial to contact our patient affairs department who will carry out a full investigation.
“I can advise that within NHS Lanarkshire, we provide two scans – a dating scan and a fetal anomaly scan at 20 weeks for all normal pregnancies.
“This is a UK standard as there is no evidence base to offer more than two scans to low-risk women.
“Additional scans are undertaken at appropriate intervals, depending on individual risk factors, for women with risk factors for placental insufficiency such as hypertension, diabetes, obesity, multiple pregnancy and poor obstetric history.”
To sign Klaudia and Brad’s petition, visit http://chng.it/9CxMN2Qj