[DiamondSmiles]

Horrified mother forced to alert midwives that her newborn baby girl wasn't breathing after they failed to notice umbilical cord wrapped around her neck

•Gemma Peters, 26, went through an agonising labour delivering her first child at Russells Hall hospital, in Dudley, West Midlands

•Baby was handed to her not breathing with the umbilical cord round her neck

•Miss Peters' daughter, Brook, suffered brain damage and died three days later

•The hospital has admitted full liability for the errors leading to Brook's death

By Suzannah Hills
UPDATED: 10:02 EST, 16 January 2013

A hospital has admitted it was to blame for the death of a baby after a horrified mother was forced to point out to midwives that her baby wasn't breathing because the umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck.

Gemma Peters, 26, was left in agony following a horrific labour at Russells Hall hospital in Dudley, West Midlands, where midwives failed to act despite her baby's head being stuck in the birth canal for 90 minutes.

And when baby Brook was finally delivered, nurses placed her straight onto her mother's chest - where terrified Miss Peters had to beg nurses to help when she noticed her newborn wasn't breathing as the umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck.

Medics then whisked her first born away to be resuscitated - but her daughter suffered huge brain damage.

Her parents, Gemma Peters and Liam Greenfield, 30, from Dudley, West Midlands, were advised that nothing more could be done and the devastating decision was taken to switch off life support three days after she was born, on July 14, 2011.

This week, the hospital has admitted full liability for the errors and delays which lead to Brook's death.

Miss Peters said, 'I had a healthy pregnancy and for everything to go so badly wrong at the end has been very difficult to cope with.'

'I went through a long, painful labour and was totally exhausted. i was terrified but the midwife was totally disinterested in me.'

'The midwives told me my baby's head was crowning and to keep pushing, but I did and nothing was happening.'

'I had never had a baby before but I pushed for more than an hour and a half and I instinctively knew something wasn't right - I was really scared.'

'This was my first labour and, like most first time mums, I put my complete trust in the midwives who I thought knew best.'

'When we found out the extent of Brook's injuries, we were devastated.'

'Agreeing to have her life support switched off was the hardest thing I have ever done.' Mother Gemma Peters.

'At one point, the midwife admitted that she couldn't find the baby's heartbeat any more but just passed it off, saying it was probably because my pelvic bone was blocking the sound of the heartbeat.'

'I had to trust her so I tried not to worry. I had been in labour for hours and was exhausted.'

'She didn't try to reassure me, or tell me what to do - my mum, Debbie, who is a care support worker at the same hospital, and Liam, helped me get comfortable.'

'They were the ones reminding me to breathe and telling me it would be ok, while the midwife just stood there.'

'When I finally gave birth, I was so relieved I had finally managed to deliver my baby.'

'I was so excited when they handed her over to me straight away, but when I looked at her I could tell straight away that she wasn't breathing. I felt sick, my emotions were all over the place.'

'I could see the cord knotted around her neck. It looked like it had been strangling her. I started screaming, "She's not breathing", and suddenly someone came and took her off me.'

'All the midwives went with Brook, and I was left alone, terrified of what was happening.'

'Liam went to try and find out what was going on, and my mum looked after me and helped clean me up, because there was no-one else there to do it.

'When we found out the extent of Brook's injuries, we were devastated. She was our first child, and we were so excited about becoming parents. Agreeing to have her life support switched off was the hardest thing I have ever done.'

'After it was clear that Brook had substantial brain damage, the midwives all avoided us. No-one came to see if we were alright, or look after us.'

Miss Peters, who now has an eight-month-old daughter with partner Liam, an engineer, says she hopes that maternity services have since been improved so no other mother has the same experience.

She added, 'I am so angry about what happened. This was my first labour and, like most first time mums, I put my complete trust in the midwives who I thought knew best.'

'Their mistakes led to us being robbed of our beautiful baby girl and although the hospital has apologised, nothing can turn back the clock.

'If I could give advice to any other expectant mum, it would be to make sure the midwife regularly checks your baby's heartbeat during labour and insist on a second opinion if necessary because things can go wrong at the last minute.'

'I wish I'd had someone there to tell me this.'

'My daughter, Millie, is now eight months old, and it breaks my heart she will never know her big sister.'

'I just want to make sure this doesn't happen ever again - no-one deserves to go through what I did. I can only hope that the Trust has improved maternity services so that no other family has to go through the heartache that we have.'

Medical law experts have criticised the midwives', "wait and see", attitude that lead to Brook's death.

Lawyers from Irwin Mitchell law firm instructed by the couple found that midwives at Russells Hall Hospital failed to correctly monitor Brook's heart rate or call a doctor for help when no heart beat could be found.

Following legal action, the Dudley Group of Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has admitted full liability for the errors which led to Brook's death.

Jenna Harris from Irwin Mitchell's Birmingham office, who specialises in birth claims, said: 'This is a tragic case and Gemma and Liam understandably remain completely devastated by the death of their first child.

'The trust has admitted that the care Gemma received from their midwives fell well short of acceptable standards. They agreed with our medical expert's view that, as the birth was taking longer than expected and attempts to listen to the baby's heart were unsuccessful, the midwives should have called for urgent medical help.

'Had they done so it would have become apparent that Brook was in distress, earlier delivery would have resulted and on balance Brook would have survived.'

'Although the trust has now admitted liability they need to now reassure patients that the problems identified have been acted upon and that the midwives concerned have been retrained so that no other parents suffer such unnecessary tragedy.'

Paula Clark, Chief Executive of the Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust, said, 'We would like to offer our most sincere condolences to Gemma Peters on the sad loss of her baby, Brook, at three days old."

'We have received a claim which is now in the hands of the Trust's legal team. Unfortunately, we are unable to comment further."

Photos Below

Tragic: Gemma Peters' daughter Brook's umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck and she wasn't breathing when she was finally born. Brook suffered severe brain damage and her life support machine was switched off three days after her birth on July 14, 2011

Admitting fault: The Dudley Group of Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust which runs Russells Hall Hospital in Dudley, West Midlands, has admitted full liability for the errors that led to baby Brook's death

Expecting: Gemma Peters' pregnancy, pictured on a 20 week scan, had been perfectly healthy up until the birth

Stunned: New mother Miss Peters was forced to point out to nurses that her daughter wasn't breathing when they handed her over after the birth

Horrific experience: Gemma Peters, pictured with her partner Liam Greenfield, started experiencing problems during labour with her first child when the baby's head became stuck in the birth canal for 90 minutes

Worst nightmare: Doctors managed to resuscitate Brook before telling heartbroken parents Miss Peters and her partner Liam Greenfield there was nothing more they could do to help their daughter


Tough decision: Three days after Brook was born, her parents made the heartbreaking decision to turn her life support machine off

Saying goodbye: Gemma Peters holds her baby daughter Brook one last time before doctors switched off life support

Correspondence: Two letters from Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust admitting liability for Brook's death

Family: Gemma Peters and her partner Liam Greenfield now have a baby daughter called Millie. Miss Peters says it breaks her heart she will never be able to meet her big sister Brook

[freakster15]

Devastating...:(

[GlassToTheArson]

Her partner? What is the chick actually a dude or something

[LadyCPlum]

Originally Posted by GlassToTheArson ↗

Her partner? What is the chick actually a dude or something

A lot of articles refer to someone's significant other, regardless of gender, as their "partner" after they reach a certain age, probably because boyfriend of girlfriend sounds too juvenile and lover sounds too sassy.

[DiamondSmiles]

Originally Posted by GlassToTheArson ↗

Her partner? What is the chick actually a dude or something

A transgendered male to female wouldn't be able to have a baby because the internal sex organs would still be male.

I thought the author was pissed off that they weren't married and kept calling the mother, "Miss".

[Rachee]

So who is the baby in the last picture? They are wearing the same clothes as the first pic....I'm confused

[Rachee]

Wait...I just saw it was the baby sister....

[DiamondSmiles]

Originally Posted by Rachee ↗

Wait...I just saw it was the baby sister....

I logged back on to reply to you.

Before I read the story, I looked at the pictures and thought it had a happy ending

[Sharon]

Originally Posted by LadyCPlum ↗

A lot of articles refer to someone's significant other, regardless of gender, as their "partner" after they reach a certain age, probably because boyfriend of girlfriend sounds too juvenile and lover sounds too sassy.

Plus it incorporates gay and unmarried couples.

[Sharon]

That's a truly heart-breaking story