When Sarah Bines embarked on her pregnancy journey, everything appeared textbook perfect. Medical professionals repeatedly reassured her that both she and her unborn daughter, Ariana, were in excellent health throughout the entire nine months.
"They kept telling me I was having a perfectly healthy pregnancy," Sarah recalls, the pain still evident in her voice. "We had no warning, no indication that anything could go wrong."
The devastating reality struck during what should have been one of the happiest moments of her life. Shortly after giving birth at Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Hospital in Margate, Kent, Sarah's world collapsed when doctors delivered the unimaginable news: her newborn daughter had tragically passed away.
A System Failure
An internal investigation conducted by the East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust revealed shocking failures in the care provided to Sarah and Ariana. The report identified "several areas where our care could have been better" and acknowledged that different management might have altered the heartbreaking outcome.
Sarah describes the moment her joy turned to horror: "When I gave birth, they took her away to clean her up and that's when they realised she wasn't breathing."
Seeking Answers and Change
Despite the trust's admission of shortcomings, Sarah feels crucial questions remain unanswered. The family is now demanding full transparency about what exactly went wrong during those critical final hours of her pregnancy.
"I need to know what happened to my daughter," Sarah states emphatically. "I carried her for nine months, gave birth to her, and I don't know how she died."
This tragic case has sparked broader concerns about maternity safety in the UK, particularly following recent scandals that have exposed systemic failures in several NHS trust maternity units across the country.
A Mother's Plea
Through her grief, Sarah has become a powerful voice for change, determined to ensure other families don't endure similar heartbreak.
"I don't want any other mother to go through what I've been through," she says. "The system needs to change, and it needs to change now."
Her story serves as a poignant reminder of the urgent need for improved maternity care protocols and better communication between healthcare providers and expectant parents throughout pregnancy and childbirth.
