We arrived expecting a baby girl ... and left with a coffin
Deaths probe maternity staff ‘ignored fears over stillbirth’
A WOMAN whose daughter was stillborn at a scandal-hit hospital claims staff ignored her warnings about the baby’s lack of movement in the womb.
Devan Cadwallader was admitted to Princess Royal Hospital, Telford, carrying a healthy baby. But in the delivery suite four days later, doctors told her that little Quinn had no heartbeat.
Before going into labour, Mrs Cadwallader, 25, said she told hospital staff that the baby’s movement had slowed down, but was assured everything was normal.
The death was later reported as a serious incident, but the findings of an internal review were inconclusive, and a postmortem examination failed to find the cause of death.
Mrs Cadwallader said: ‘ We went into hospital with a healthy baby thinking we would come home as a family.’ Her father, Kelvin Morgan, 66, added: ‘ Instead we came out with a coffin.’
Mrs Cadwallader and her husband Gavin, from Shrewsbury, believe their baby’s stillbirth on December 7 last year was preventable.
They have been invited to give evidence to the NHS regulator for its review of Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust’s maternity services.
More than 60 babies and mothers are feared to have died or suffered harm at the trust’s hospitals since 1998.
An investigation into allegations of poor maternity care was ordered by the then Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, in January 2017. It was set up to review 23 cases, but last week it was announced that the inquiry was being widened. Documents revealed the trust was praised by two official bodies for having a low caesarean section rate and for encouraging women to have natural births.
The Care Quality Commission and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists singled out the low number of surgical births as one of the trust’s strengths.
But some experts believe the drive for natural childbirth may have contributed to deaths and poor care.
Mrs Cadwallader, who works in publishing, said: ‘I was admitted for induction of labour due to the expected size of the baby. ‘At that time, our baby daughter was healthy. However, what happened to us was devastating.
‘Despite raising concerns about the lack of progress with the labour and reduced movement of the baby, we were just told that everything was OK. I had the feeling I wasn’t being listened to. I was just told I had a sleepy baby. But Quinn had not been a sleepy baby until then.
‘When I was sent to have my waters broken, I was given the news there was no heartbeat. Quinn was stillborn. It was heartbreaking.
‘We feel that if our concerns had been listened to, our daughter could have survived. We now know that earlier in the year significant concerns had been raised over the instances of baby death at the trust, but it seems the necessary lessons still haven’t been learned.’
The couple are expecting a baby next month. Mr Cadwallader, 32, a newspaper advertising executive, said: ‘The system needs looking into.’
They are now taking legal action against the trust. Their solicitor, Emma Broomfield, of Lanyon Bowdler, a law firm representing several families whose babies have died or been born with injuries, said: ‘They want reassurance the hospitals will... do everything needed to ensure no more preventable deaths occur.’
Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust has identified cases of potential poor care.
A spokesman said: ‘The sad death of Mr and Mrs Cadwallader’s baby has been fully investigated by the trust.
‘There are questions that the family have raised that we have not been able to answer. We have written to ask if they would allow us to refer this case to an independent expert for further review.’