Danielle Brown, 31, was sent home from hospital despite a consultant stipulating she must remain hospitalised until delivery. Days later, scans revealed her daughter, Maisie, had passed away at approximately 29 weeks. Ms Brown said she was simply given a booklet for bereaved parents and told to book a slot to give birth, with 'no compassion'.
The first-time mother, from North Shields, North Tyneside, had been previously identified with pre-eclampsia, a severe pregnancy condition. She and her partner, Anthony Miller, had been thrilled at the thought of their first baby's arrival.
Discharged Against Consultant's Advice
Seven months through her pregnancy, in February 2023, Ms Brown received treatment at the Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI), Newcastle, after reporting illness and a pre-eclampsia diagnosis. Assessments had also raised worries about Maisie's heart rate.
The next day, a consultant obstetrician determined that Danielle must stay in hospital until giving birth, yet she was released 24 hours afterwards on February 14 following examination by a different consultant. The following day, Ms Brown contacted the RVI's maternity assessment unit with additional worries, only to be informed she was likely experiencing a stomach bug.
She insisted on being examined and returned to the hospital, where she faced a 90-minute wait before being seen and informed that medics were unable to detect Maisie's heartbeat. Ms Brown and Mr Miller were given the devastating news that their daughter had died. The heartbroken mum returned to the hospital on February 17 to deliver Maisie following a 10-hour labour.
'I Think She's Gone'
Ms Brown recalled: "When me and Anthony found out I was expecting we were overjoyed. We bought things for Maisie's nursery, bought clothes and had a gender reveal party. It was such a happy time for the whole family. Although I knew I was at risk of pre-eclampsia, everything seemed to be going well until I woke up with swelling."
"When I was transferred to RVI, I thought we'd be well looked after. A consultant told me I wasn't well and needed to stay in hospital until I had my baby, so when I was sent home, I was concerned – but I trusted what I was being told. When I started suffering from pain, I rang the maternity unit but couldn't get through for an hour. When I explained my symptoms I was dismissed and told I had a stomach bug. When I finally had a scan, the screen was turned away and there was no sound. I said to Ant: 'I think she's gone'."
Trust Admits Breach of Duty
The mother has received an undisclosed settlement from Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. The Trust conceded a breach of duty and acknowledged that Maisie would have survived had her mother not been discharged during her initial admission.
Faisal Ali, of solicitors Irwin Mitchell, stressed that pre-eclampsia was a serious condition demanding careful monitoring. He said: "What happened to Danielle and Maisie vividly highlights the human cost of care failings and how families left needing answers and access to specialist support are left trying to pick up the pieces. Sadly, this isn't an isolated case and we represent hundreds of families nationally affected by maternity failings. Put simply, maternity services aren't good enough, resulting in mums and babies being put at risk because of deep-rooted problems nationally."
The couple have since welcomed a son, Harrison, now aged two. Ms Brown reflected: "While we feel so blessed to have Harrison, it remains difficult knowing Maisie should be here with us too. She will always be part of our family. More needs to be done not only to improve maternity care but also, when something goes wrong, families need proper and compassionate support. After saying goodbye to Maisie, we had to walk through a labour ward seeing parents going home with their babies. That will stay with me forever."
Ian Joy, executive director of Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Health Professionals at the hospital trust, said: "Maisie's family have experienced a devastating loss which has undoubtedly had a profound effect on everyone who loved her. We fully accept that aspects of the care we provided fell short of the standards the family had every right to expect and offer a heartfelt apology for this."
"Following a detailed review in 2023, we improved urgent assessment for women who come to our maternity services with unexpected symptoms or suspected complications and introduced quicker escalation procedures when there are concerns. National standards have recently been published for this aspect of maternity care and our services have recently been assessed as performing well against the main elements. Our priority is to make sure all standards are exceeded across the service."
