Cause of baby's death 'unascertained' after inquest

Lottie Kim James-Howard died 10 days after she was born at Leeds General Infirmary

Hospital bosses have apologised for conflicting medical advice and a delay in providing antibiotics to an expectant mother, as the inquest into her baby's death concluded.

At a hearing following the death of Lottie Kim James-Howard, who was 10 days old, her family criticised the maternity care her mother Jersey Leigh James received from Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust (LTHT).

Oliver Longstaff, the area coroner for West Yorkshire, said Lottie's cause of death remained "unascertained" and recorded a narrative verdict.

Dr Magnus Harrison, chief medical officer at LTHT, said: "We recognise that conflicting medical advice and the delay in antibiotic treatment caused unnecessary worry for the family. We are truly sorry for this."

The inquest in Wakefield previously heard how Lottie was pronounced dead at Leeds General Infirmary (LGI) on 23 December 2023 after her mother awoke at home to find her daughter was not breathing.

During her pregnancy, Ms James received conflicting advice from medical professionals about whether she needed antibiotics after testing positive for Group B strep.

According to the NHS, Group B strep is harmless for most adults but can be dangerous if transmitted to babies.

The inquest was told Ms James should have received antibiotics for the condition when she was in labour to reduce the risk of transmission.

But this did not happen, with the trust unable to explain why.

Doctors told the hearing Lottie was born too soon for the antibiotics to have taken effect and said she received a full course of treatment following birth.

Still, an internal review report from the trust described the failure to give Ms James antibiotics before Lottie's birth as "suboptimal care", and apologised.

Lottie's family said the trust's communication was "at times poor and dismissive of [Ms James's] vulnerability as a young mother".

The conflicting advice Ms James received had also caused "unnecessary worry and mistrust", they added.

Ms James told the hearing she regularly questioned if her daughter would still be alive had she received antibiotics before birth, but Mr Longstaff said pathologists had provided "unequivocal evidence" that Group B strep did not contribute to her death.

Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has come under scrutiny over its maternity services

Other "risk factors" identified by pathologists at the inquest included Lottie's age, her potential vulnerability due to her genes and "co-sleeping" with her mother the night before she was found unconscious in bed at their home in Gipton.

Dr Chris Johnson, a forensic pathologist, said it was "not possible to state with any degree of certainty exactly how Lottie died".

"Our deepest condolences are with Ms James and her family for the tragic loss of Lottie and we understand what a devastating time this is for them," said Dr Harrison.

"We want to reassure families that we have since made improvements to our communication, information and guidance for staff and patients."

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