Kelly Whitehead, 37, is suing Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust after her son Christopher was stillborn at 41 weeks. She says the baby would have survived if the hospital had updated her address and phone number when she moved house, which led to her missing 10 weeks of crucial antenatal care.
Missed appointments and lack of follow-up
Kelly moved home but later discovered her details had not been correctly recorded across NHS services. She received no medical appointments between 31 and 41 weeks of pregnancy. Under NHS guidance, women who miss appointments should be followed up under “did not attend” procedures, offering alternatives such as home visits or GP liaison. Kelly says this did not happen.
The trust acknowledged in a letter that “there was a missed opportunity to monitor Christopher’s growth on scan which may potentially have resulted in a missed opportunity to deliver Christopher earlier.”
High-risk pregnancy and traumatic history
Before Christopher, Kelly gave birth to twins George and Felicity, who were born premature via emergency C-section. The twins are disabled with high-needs autism. Kelly was classed as high risk in her pregnancy with Christopher and initially received extra scans and monitoring.
She said: “Neither of my twins weighed more than a small bag of sugar. We didn't know at points if we were going to be able to bring them home.”
Failed attempts to get care
Kelly requested a planned C-section but was talked out of it by hospital staff. She later moved to a larger council house and provided her new address and phone number at a general appointment. However, she missed several appointments due to caring for her twins and struggled to get support.
“I was really struggling and getting more and more tired,” she said. “I missed a few appointments because I couldn't get there on public transport - but when I tried to explain my situation they didn't seem to care.”
She discovered later that letters were sent to her old address, and community services recorded home visits as “no one in” without checking further.
Stillbirth and aftermath
At almost 42 weeks, Kelly called the hospital with concerns, but was told it was Braxton Hicks. Days later, she was asked to come in, but doctors could not find Christopher's heartbeat. He had been stillborn.
“My world fell apart,” Kelly said. “The hardest part was hearing that as far as they could tell, he had only been dead a few days. I believe if I'd been seen a week prior, he would still be there.”
Kelly is now working with Fletchers Solicitors. Clinical negligence solicitor Priya Singh said: “Kelly's experience is heartbreaking because no expectant mother should go 10 weeks without antenatal care during the final stages of pregnancy, particularly when national guidance is clear that missed appointments should trigger active follow-up and safeguarding measures.”
Tracy Pilcher, chief nurse at Nottingham University Hospitals, said: “We would like to extend our sincere condolences to Ms Whitehead on the loss of her son, Christopher. Following a review of the care provided during Christopher’s birth in April 2019, it was identified that opportunities were missed for community and hospital maternity teams to effectively share information regarding missed appointments. We deeply regret that these opportunities were not taken.”
