‘It hurts our heart he can’t be who he should have been’: Mothers left ‘traumatised’ by the state of maternity care in Wales
Stories emerge from Wales about poor state of maternity care and 'cruel' treatment of women
Doctors, patients and lawyers are calling for a drastic overhaul of Wales’ maternity services after allegations of bullying by midwives.
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Emily was told her son Ollie’s heart had stopped a day into her labour in 2020. She’s told LBC she’s been left “traumatised” by his birth.
The mother, from Bridgend in South Wales, says midwives who promised to care for her let her down.
“I was in labour for, like, two days – with a baby I knew had died. I had said to the midwives, ‘if I’m still in labour after 24 hours, I want you to give me a c-section'. They never came to me. They never said, ‘it’s been 24 hours’, and I was in so much pain.
“They said to me, ‘we won’t let you go 24 hours, because that would be cruel’. They literally said it would be cruel. And then they let me be in labour for over 40 hours”.
Cwm Taf Morgannwg Health Board has issued a full apology to Emily and her partner.
They have also told LBC they are committed to the highest standard of care, and to improving their services.
Read more: Government quietly drops target to reduce premature births by 15,000 per year
When Emily fell pregnant with her daughter Isla around four years later, she chose to move health boards. But she says she had similar concerns about the way midwives treated their patients there.
Emily’s story is just one of many from across Wales.
Sian’s son Gethin was left with a brain injury from his birth at Swansea’s Singleton Hospital. An independent inquiry found emergency measures were not taken early enough when signs showed the baby was in distress during labour.
While speaking with LBC, Gethin was at home with a virus – a complication from the injuries hewas left with:
“This is a common thing for Gethin. He misses out on so much as a result of what has happened to him. He is the most beautiful, cheerful, energetic little boy normally, who just wants to beinvolved in everything that is going on.
“It hurts our heart on a daily basis that he can’t be who he should have been.”
Sian and her husband joined other families to push for a review into Singleton Hospital’s maternity services.
The review – which was released this summer – found a series of failures in the care of patients there and made several recommendations for improvements. Recommendations Swansea Bay University Health Board say are already being implemented.
Swansea Bay say events are also being held with families, healthcare professionals, maternityand neonatal experts across the UK and Royal Colleges, to further identify improvements needed.
It’s not just an issue across South Wales, though.
Julia Reynolds is a clinical negligence lawyer with Leigh Day, and is a partner at thefirm. She’s told LBC her caseload for clients across Wales now mainly consists of maternity and neonatal claims.
“One of the aspects of their complaints can be that they don’t feel to be an intrinsic part of that decision-making process. They sometimes feel like the labour is something that happens to them, and they don’t really have any input or control into mode of delivery, and how they would like that labour to be managed.
“I’ve heard families say, ‘I’d like to have had more children, but I just cannot put myself through it again’”.
A report was released earlier this month, looking into England’s maternity services. It investigated several NHS trusts and found systemic failures in the care of women and babies.
A similar review is currently underway in Scotland.
In Wales, an assurance assessment has been announced by the Welsh Health Secretary. Jeremy Miles has told LBC it will investigate all maternity and neonatal services across Wales.
“What I want to make sure, is that we have a rapid understanding of the picture at every single maternity department. In Wales, we’re doing it for every single unit – which will enable to get us very quickly a position on the ground.
“I’m expecting to get that advice very quickly in the new year. We will act on that advice.”
There are concerns, though, this kind of assessment – as opposed to an inquiry or investigation – won't give an accurate overview of care in Wales.