A newborn baby girl died after a locum obstetrician refused to perform an emergency Caesarean section despite signs of an abnormal heartbeat, an inquest has heard. The mother, 27-year-old Shannon Lord, had been admitted to Blackpool Victoria Hospital in January 2023 when cardiotocography (CTG) scans showed her baby's heartbeat was abnormal.
Midwives raised concerns with obstetrician Muhammed Sandow, but he told them he had seen similar CTGs return to normal and opted to wait another 30 minutes. A Caesarean was eventually carried out at 4.25am, one and a half hours after concerns were first raised. Baby Ayla was born floppy, pale, and not breathing properly, and suffered seizures. She died 13 days later.
Blackpool Teaching Hospital has admitted failings in the care of Ayla and her mother, and acknowledged that the outcome might have been different if the Caesarean had been performed earlier. The hospital said it has since implemented changes to its procedures.
In a statement, Shannon Lord and her partner Dayle Newton, 36, said: 'We were not made aware of any concerns with Ayla's health until she was delivered floppy, pale and not breathing. This was extremely traumatic. We didn't know what was going on. A few days after our beautiful little girl was born, we had to make the decision to withdraw her care as a result of severe brain damage. We sat with our girl in our arms for eleven hours watching her slowly die.'
The couple added: 'We are extremely angry and will never get over the loss of our first child together. It is devastating to know now that had the midwives' repeated concerns been actioned, Ayla would be with us today.' They have since had another baby girl and chose to give birth at Royal Preston Hospital instead.
At the inquest in Blackpool, midwife Jennifer Fogg said she had a 'gut feeling something was wrong' and escalated her concerns, but Dr Sandow did not authorise a C-section until later. Dr Sandow told the inquest he had seen similar CTGs normalise within 40 minutes, but added: 'Looking back, if I had a similar case again I would call the consultant and say we ought to be preparing for a c-section.'
