Midwife whose baby died ‘seemed to be hypnobirthing’

A MIDWIFE who cared for a colleague during a fatal pregnancy said she had not been concerned about her condition because it looked like she was using hypnobirthing techniques, an inquest heard.

Robyn Davis has accused her former colleagues of negligence over the death of her newborn son Orlando, claiming that she “never felt safe” when her concerns that her labour was going wrong were repeatedly brushed aside during her home birth.

It was heard Mrs Davis, a trained midwife, did not have hypnobirthing in her birth plan, a method that combines breathing and relaxation techniques to help mothers feel calmer during labour.

However, Gillian Goodwin, one of the midwives who cared for Mrs Davis at the time, said her behaviour was similar to mothers who use hypnobirthing and did not think she was in difficulty.

Mrs Davis, who had been assessed as having a low-risk pregnancy, ended up having to be taken to hospital by ambulance. She suffered seizures which led to her being placed in a coma.

The baby boy passed away two weeks after being born by emergency caesarean section on Sept 10 2021. It has been alleged there was a failure to monitor the “fluid consumption and urine output” of Mrs Davis during labour.

Orlando was the second child of graphic designer Jonny Davis, 30, and Mrs Davis, 28, of Steyning, West Sussex, who have since had another baby.

At Chichester Coroner’s Court in Wiltshire, Ms Goodwin said in the early stages Mrs Davis was “acting like a normal person in labour”. However, as it went on, she “became demoralised” until the situation deteriorated and it was decided to transfer her to hospital.

Mrs Davis said her concerns about the baby’s position and fluid consumption were ignored.

Ms Goodwin told the hearing Mrs Davis’ birth plan did not say “specifically that she wants to hypnobirth”, however, she said was “acting like somebody who was hypnobirthing”.

She insisted she had not told a fellow midwife Mrs Davis was using the technique during a handover of her care at the hospital.

Despite this, the inquest previously heard the midwife told a dazed Mrs Davis she was sorry and felt as if it was her fault when she woke up “because I just thought you were hypnobirthing”.

The inquest continues.