Medway Maritime Hospital in pay out over traumatic birth

The mother was told her daughter had only a 50% chance of survival

A woman who was left traumatised by her daughter's birth has been awarded damages of more than £75,000.

The mother suffered a psychiatric injury following the birth at the Medway Maritime Hospital in Gillingham in 2012, the High Court heard.

Medway NHS Foundation Trust has admitted liability after the baby was diagnosed with cerebral palsy due to delays in delivering her.

The trust had denied the birth left the mother with an ongoing mental disorder.

Following a trial at the High Court, Mrs Justice Whipple said the mother's anxiety and depression were a result of her experiences during and after her daughter's birth, which had left her feeling "numb and overwhelmed".

'Obstetric negligence'

"The claimant's mental disorder is inexorably bound up with her experiences in the delivery room and with her worry about [her daughter's] likelihood of survival in the first few hours and days of [her] life," she said.

"The causes of the mental disorder are closely linked to the defendant's obstetric negligence just before [the child] was born."

The court was told the mother did not see her daughter until the following morning, and was "heartbroken" to find her not moving, in a plastic box, surrounded by tubes.

The High Court heard the mother now struggles to leave her home and is unable to work.

Awarding her damages of £76,183, the judge said damages for the woman's daughter would be assessed at a later date.