Newborn baby dies after mum not woken for heart rate check
Family photoA newborn baby died after hospital staff failed to wake his mother for "potentially lifesaving observations" before his birth, an investigation has found.
Sonny Taylor was left "distressed for a significant amount of time" before a delayed emergency Caesarean at Ysbyty Gwynedd, Bangor, and died three days later from a severe brain injury caused by sepsis and lack of oxygen.
His parents Eve and Thomas said he was "badly let down when he needed help the most".
Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board accepted the report's findings and apologised "unreservedly" for the failures in care.
Sonny's mother, Eve, 29, had been admitted to hospital after her waters broke at 36 weeks.
Later that afternoon she was taken to the maternity ward after signs of potential infection were identified.
At 18:00 GMT, her observations and Sonny's heart rate were recorded as normal.
While Eve was asleep at 22:00, midwifery staff did not wake her to carry out further observations or listen to Sonny's heart rate, despite this being required, an internal investigation report found.
"When I awoke Sonny was not moving as much and I immediately knew something wasn't right," she said.
"What followed was frantic, chaotic and terrifying."
A registrar confirmed the foetal heart rate was abnormal, but Eve was wrongly transferred to the labour ward, causing further delay before Sonny was delivered by emergency Caesarean at 02:03.
"I went to sleep at my emergency C-section not knowing if I would wake up or whether my baby would make it," Eve said.
'He was badly let down'
Tests later showed Sonny "had been distressed for a significant amount of time" and should have been delivered earlier, the report said.
He was transferred to a specialist neonatal intensive care unit, but after discussions with clinicians, Eve and Thomas agreed to move him to palliative care.
He died shortly after 19:00 on 3 October 2022, with his death recorded as brain injury caused by a lack of oxygen and sepsis.
Investigators said that if Sonny's heart rate had been identified as abnormal earlier, "this would likely have changed the outcome".
Eve said: "We will forever cherish those precious but too few moments we got to spend with Sonny, but it broke our hearts having to say goodbye to him.
"Sadly, what happened to us was not an isolated incident.
"The least families deserve is for their voices to be heard so care improves for others."
Thomas said: "I don't think we will ever get over leaving hospital and not taking Sonny with us to start a new chapter in our family together.
"Sonny will always be part of our family.
"We will always believe he was badly let down when he needed help the most."
Family photoThe family received an undisclosed settlement from Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB).
Sara Burns, specialist medical negligence lawyer at Irwin Mitchell, representing the family, said "no amount of compensation can ever begin to make up for what the family has been through".
The health board said changes had been made to reduce the risk of similar incidents in the future.
"We know that no actions can undo what has happened, but we are determined to learn from this case and to continue improving the safety and quality of maternity care for all families across north Wales," it added.
