Grandma sues hospital over PTSD from watching granddaughter's birth - Mouths of Mums

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Article Grandma sues hospital over PTSD from watching granddaughter’s birth

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A grandmother has sued a UK hospital  for suffering PTSD following the birth of her granddaughter.

Calderdale & Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust were ordered to make the pay-out after a chaotic delivery which left the new-born with permanent neurological damage, reports The Telegraph.

The unnamed baby, which came out “flat and purple with a swollen head”, did not start breathing for 12 minutes – her mother and grandmother believed she was dead.

The High Court found the midwives at Calderdale Birthing Unit did not properly anticipate the risk of delivering a 10lb baby.

The girl suffered an acute profound hypoxic ischaemic insult as a result of an unnecessary 11-minute delay in delivery in April 2011.

Mr Justice Goss also found the midwives had deliberately prevented a specialist obstetrician from entering the room during a crucial stage in the emergency, and that the hospital subsequently destroyed medical records after the legal action had begun.

The mother had raised concerns about the size of her baby during antenatal appointments, but the “offhand” midwives had told her “big babies just slip out”. In the event, the girl’s shoulder became jammed behind her mother’s pelvic bone.

Until now, family members traumatised from witnessing negligent medical procedures or their aftermath have found it extremely difficult to successfully claim damages.

Experts say the High Court ruling “turns the tide” in favour of family members claiming compensation in cases of medical negligence.

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  • yeah that sure is a new benchmark, isn’t it

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  • Sounds like a big cover up by the mid wives and the hospital – they should be sued in this instance.

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  • Such heartbreaking news. I blame the midwives for not letting the specialist in. The hospital was also at fault. They showed how guilty they were by destroying evidence.

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  • This is heartbreaking. Why would midwives act in that way? They need to be locked up.

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  • I feel the hospital was to blame for this.

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  • This must have been a traumatic experience ! I hope the baby is alright.

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  • Does sound like the hospital was negligent and covering up.
    So glad my gyno’s were with me at delivery time.

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  • It sounds like deliberate neglignece of the midwives and the Dr. probably took their word for it that all was OK. If this case is correctly reported I hope the midwives were dismissed from that section. Whether or not they were transferred to another section their salary should have been reduced to fit the alternative work they were given. In this case I think the new Mum’s Grandma and Mother could both sue the hospital. Has the baby suffered any permanent damage as a result of this and need ongoing expensive health care.

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  • This sounds like the hospital and midwives behaved appallingly.

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  • Yikes! I felt like my 2nd baby was a big baby, I asked for a sizing scan, at 35 weeks she was the size of a full term 41 week baby. I asked to be induced that day, the midwives refused. I went to my GP the next day who gave me a stretch and sweep and that night I delivered a health 8pound 15.9ounce baby healthy and happy. Trust you own body and instincts- don’t accept something that doesn’t sit right with you!

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  • Babies of all sizes get stuck. The midwives should have realized how bad the situation was right away and done everything they could to prevent this tragedy. Instead they kick out the doctor and try to hide their mistakes.

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