Mother was not told of baby's fatal birth trauma

Last Christmas Eve Kayla Palmer went into the newly-opened Midland Metropolitan University Hospital in Smethwick to be induced.

Her baby boy, Hendrix, was overdue and was eventually delivered by emergency caesarean on Boxing Day.

He suffered a brain injury caused by a lack of blood or oxygen around the time of his birth and died when he was three days old.

Ms Palmer said no-one told her what had happened and she only found out when she went to see him in neo-natal care.

He was covered in wires and had tubes attached to him."What happened, why is he like this?" she asked the nurse.

"Something didn't feel right with the situation because normally you'd have your baby next to you.

"I'm being wheeled into neonatal however, they didn't pre warn me or family the situation he was in, as in there were wires, he had a breathing tube, there was a bit of blood," she said.

Since the loss of her first and only child, Ms Palmer, 23 and from West Bromwich, has suffered episodes of temporary paralysis as well as post-traumatic stress disorder.

She is working to see change as a national rapid maternity review puts the spotlight on care across the country.

"I will be our babies' voices to make sure that this never happens again and changes will be made," she said.

Lawyers are in the early stages of investigating a claim for clinical negligence.

Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust said it was "deeply saddened" at Hendrix's death.

It said it had accepted and taken action on recommendations in a maternity and newborn safety investigations report which had identified occasions where Ms Palmer was not fully informed and there had been delays in providing care she and Hendrix should have received.

"I did ask for some pain relief and it didn't arrive until about six hours later from when I requested the medication," Ms Palmer said.

Solicitor Catherine Buchanan was concerned that there were signs during Ms Palmer's delivery that Hendrix was in distress and action was not taken in a quick enough timeframe.

"We're also concerned that there have been reports over missing equipment and medication delays when Hendrix was delivered and during his resuscitation," she added.

The hospital trust was among 12 hospitals being examined by the Labour peer Baroness Amos, who is chairing a review into maternity care.

Hungry mothers, dirty wards and poor care are some of the findings in the latest report looking at the state of England's maternity services.

Speaking to BBC R4's Today programme, Baroness Amos said she was "confident... that change will happen" as a result of her review.

Ewa and Tom Hender lost their baby son, Aubrey, in 2022 and believe there were problems with his care, at the same trust.

Mr Hender is now part of a group of bereaved parents, the Maternity Safety Alliance (MSA), calling for change. He said inquiries into hospital trusts did not reflect the "bigger picture".

"We hope that Baroness Amos will get to a point where she realises that the state of the maternity system is so disjointed that what it really needs is a public inquiry," he said.

Diane Wake, the Trust's group chief executive officer, said it was updating its fetal monitoring guidance so that any abnormal results were escalated for "prompt, face-to-face clinical review".

"We have reviewed our escalation standards for obstetric emergencies, ensuring that in circumstances such as cord prolapse, transfer to theatre is immediate," she said.

"We have also strengthened assurance processes so that every clinical area can evidence full access to the appropriate emergency kit, with compliance checks recorded twice in every 24-hour period.

"We continue to work closely with our Maternity and Neonatal Voices Partnership to ensure that we fully understand and act upon the experiences and voices of our families, and that learning directly informs how our service continues to improve.

"As a maternity service, we remain absolutely committed to learning, improving and ensuring the safest possible care for the families we serve. Every baby, every woman and every family remains at the heart of that commitment."

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