Grieving mother ‘haunted’ after desperate pleas for help were ‘ignored by midwives’ as she gave birth to tragic baby boy
A mother told an inquest today that her desperate pleas for help were allegedly ignored by midwives as she gave birth to a tragic baby boy.
Robyn Davis, herself a trained midwife, had opted for a home birth but was transferred there Worth Hospital when complications arose.
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The mother underwent an emergency caesarean section to deliver baby Orlando, while Robyn was put into an induced coma.
Tragically, the baby died 14 days later on September 24, 2021, after suffering a brain injury when deprived of oxygen at birth.
Robyn, 28, today spoke of her grief as an inquest into little Orlando’s death began.
She said she felt she was not listened to by midwives when she raised concerns about her fluid intake and the baby’s position.
The mother said: “I kept saying, ‘Something is wrong’. I felt like I was trapped, that even though I knew I was deteriorating so quickly, I wasn’t able to think of ways to help myself, like asking to go to the hospital.
“Every time I said something was wrong, the midwives never investigated it further.”
When she was finally rushed to hospital, Robyn suffered seizures and was put into an induced coma.
When she woke up, she was told that her son was seriously ill.
Robyn said: “I couldn’t stop crying and having panic attacks. I couldn’t understand why Orlando was so catastrophically ill that he was going to die.
‘I cannot explain the sadness, frustration, anger and utter heartbreak I felt and continue to feel towards the Trust for not keeping us safe.
“As a parent I cannot explain how terrible this is to hear news that it is in your child’s best interest to die; To also be faced with agreeing to end your child’s life is the biggest scar you can imagine.”
This is a pain to live with. This is because I can’t help reliving the moments where I constantly expressed multiple times that something was wrong during the birth.
Mother Robyn Davis
The mother said she is “psychologically haunted” after watching her son die and her life has been “ruined” as a result.
She also explained that she cannot process how her “healthy, full-term baby” could die and believes his death was “completely unpreventable.”
Robyn is now afraid to leave the house because seeing young boys is “triggering” for her.
She added: “This is a pain to live with. This is because I can’t help reliving the moments where I constantly expressed multiple times that something was wrong during the birth.
“It’s also a sickening feeling that no one noticed for hours how bad I was, even though I expressed it.”
Lawyers for the couple, who have two other children, claim there was “a fundamental lack of safe maternity care” for Orlando and his mother.
They also told both Robyn and Orlando’s father during the hearing Jonny Davis has been diagnosed PTSD “as a result of their terrible experience”.
Head Nurse Maggie Davies, from University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust said ahead of the hearing: “We would like to express our sincere condolences to Orlando’s family at this extremely difficult time.
“We will do everything we can to help the coroner and the family understand the circumstances surrounding the tragic loss of their son.”
The inquest in Chichester continues.
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