Baby died after caesarean delivery delay - inquest

The parents of a baby girl who died 13 days after she was born have said they are concerned for the safety of maternity services at Blackpool Victoria Hospital.

An inquest found that a delay to a caesarean delivery following complications during labour "materially contributed" to the death of Ayla Newton in February 2023.

Ayla's parents, Shannon Lord, 27, and Dayle Newton, 36, said "repeated concerns raised by multiple midwives were ignored".

The hospital trust said it was "truly sorry that our care fell below the standards they deserved" but it had improved its processes and training since Ayla's death.

Coroner, Margaret Taylor, said a monitor tracing Ayla's wellbeing during labour "was abnormal from the outset" of it being connected at 03:12 GMT on 25 January 2023.

It was then classified as "suspicious" at 03:38 but "a decision was made to continue to monitor Ayla".

The decision to carry out a caesarean section was not made until between 04:25 and 04:35 and Ayla was "born in poor condition" half an hour later "requiring resuscitation and intubation immediately after birth", the inquest heard.

The baby was transferred to Preston where she was diagnosed with hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy - a condition where the brain does not get enough oxygen before or shortly after birth and she died on 8 February.

Acting on behalf of Ayla's parents, solicitor Eleanor Rostron, said: "We do not believe that the hospital has demonstrated adequate insight into what should have been done differently to prevent Ayla's death.

"Maternity staff should be aware of the importance of carefully monitoring both mother and baby not only throughout a pregnancy, but up until a baby is safely delivered."

She said Ayla's "grossly abnormal" heart rate results continued for "a prolonged period".

"This should have triggered an emergency medical intervention to deliver baby Ayla in accordance with national guidelines," she said.

Ms Rostron said the baby's parents were "devastated and have lost trust in the hospital".

"We are not reassured that the medical staff involved in Ayla's care have an adequate understanding of how catastrophic brain damage occurs or the importance of acting timeously on an abnormal heart rate reading," she added.

Bridget Lees, chief nurse and midwifery officer at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: "The safety of mothers and their children is of utmost importance to all of us and we have already undertaken a thorough and transparent investigation, reviewing our practices and completing a number of immediate actions.

"We have particularly focused on improving our governance processes and reviewing information sharing, training and education.

"We continue to work with external colleagues, including the Local Maternity and Neonatal System and the North-West Neonatal Operational Delivery Network.

"These actions, among others, ensure we continue to provide caring, safe, and respectful maternity services for the women and babies in our communities."

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