Mother of stillborn baby shares Gloucester maternity concerns

Emma Ziff (left), pictured with her wife, Juliette (right), wants to make sure lessons are learnt

A mother whose son was stillborn says she shares serious concerns raised about maternity services raised in a BBC Panorama programme.

Emma Ziff was refused an elective c-section by Gloucestershire Royal Hospital, and a 40-week appointment to review her case was never booked.

She attended the birth unit at 41 weeks with contractions and, after being sent home twice, was told her baby had died.

The trust that runs the hospital said it was "deeply sorry" over the death.

Ms Ziff said she wants to "raise awareness and make sure lessons are learnt".

She was 45 at the time of her pregnancy, and had raised concerns about her age, that the conception was via IVF and that it would be the first time she had given birth, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

After a midwife refused her request for a c-section, Ms Ziff was told that if she had not given birth by 40 weeks, a consultant review would be booked to book one.

This appointment was never booked, however.

Ms Ziff attended the birth unit at 41 weeks with contractions. As the contractions were irregular, she was sent home on two separate occasions and re-admitted the next day when she was in pain and finding it difficult to cope.

However, the midwife couldn't find the baby's heartbeat and told Ms Ziff that her baby had died. She gave birth to her stillborn baby son, Otis, at 43 weeks.

A post-mortem confirmed that his death was caused by a lack of oxygen reaching her son in the womb.

The trust that runs health services in Gloucestershire said it was sorry about the circumstances that led to the death of baby Otis

Ms Ziff, who lived in Gloucester at the time of her pregnancy but has since moved to Spain, said she chose to share her story to raise awareness of the issues around midwives and consultants listening to mums.

"Had my wishes been listened to, heard and actioned by a doctor reviewing my care then the outcome would have been very different," Ms Ziff said.

Claire Stoneman, a medical negligence expert from Enable Law who represented Emma, said it was a tragically sad case.

"Pregnancy as you get older has higher risks in relation to stillbirth and mum [Ms Ziff] realised this which is why she asked to have a c-section.

"If she had been listened to in this case her baby would be with her now. No amount of money can ever compensate our client for the loss of her son."

'Significant improvements'

Kevin McNamara, chief executive of Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Trust, apologised over the incident.

He said the trust has improved its maternity services significantly over the past two years and brought in a new maternity leadership team.

"We are deeply sorry for the circumstances that led to the loss of baby Otis under our care in 2017.

"Learning from the cases that were shared on the Panorama programme this week has led to significant improvements to our maternity services over the past two years.

"The significant changes made have been driven by our staff, working closely with families and communities, to ensure everyone has a voice so that we provide the best and safest care."