Danielle Brown, 31, from North Shields, was sent home from the Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI) on two occasions despite a consultant warning she should remain on the ward until her baby was born. By the time she returned to hospital the next day, doctors could not find her baby's heartbeat.
Brown had been diagnosed with pre-eclampsia and told by a consultant obstetrician that she should stay in hospital until her first child, daughter Maisie, was born. However, she was discharged from the maternity unit on February 14, 2023, following a review by a different consultant. Hospital bosses have accepted that the care provided to Danielle and Maisie fell short of expected standards, issuing a "heartfelt apology" and explaining that improvements had been made to the urgent assessment of patients in the maternity department since the family's experience.
Concerns Dismissed
At the time, monitoring had already flagged concerns about Maisie's heartrate. The next day, Danielle rang the maternity unit, complaining of severe stomach cramps and concerns about her baby's movements. However, she said her concerns were "dismissed" by the midwife she spoke to, who said it was likely just a stomach bug. She attended hospital but reported an "unreasonable" wait of 90 minutes to be seen.
When she was seen, doctors could not find her daughter's heartbeat. Danielle was discharged again after the heartbreaking news and said she was handed a leaflet and told to "book a slot" to give birth. She returned to hospital two days later to deliver Maisie during a 10-hour labour. The hospital trust is understood to accept that Maisie would have survived had Danielle not been sent home initially.
Legal Action and Settlement
Danielle, who works as a barista, and her partner Anthony Miller instructed medical negligence lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to investigate their care. The mum has received an undisclosed settlement. Danielle had gone to hospital on February 12 after displaying swelling to her face, hands, and feet—signs that could mean pre-eclampsia. She was 29 weeks pregnant at the time, and it was when concerns about Maisie's heartrate were raised that she was transferred to the RVI.
Danielle has now spoken out about her loss and the need for national maternity improvements. She said: "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'."
Impact and Aftermath
Danielle said the care afterwards was also anger-inducing, adding: "When it was confirmed Maisie had died, we burst into tears," she said. "Nobody explained what had happened to Maisie. I was just given a booklet for bereaved parents and told to book a slot to give birth. Hearing that with no compassion angered me so much."
"I went through 10 hours of labour and pain. When Maisie was born the room was silent. Seeing Maisie was bittersweet. She was perfect. I told her she was beautiful and I loved her. It was devastating that my first experience of holding a baby was holding my stillborn daughter."
"When we left hospital, we gave Maisie one last cuddle and kiss and told her we loved her and were sorry things couldn't have been different."
Danielle has been diagnosed with PTSD and depression following Maisie's death. The couple now have son Harrison, 2, but said Maisie "should be here with us too." Danielle added: "Returning home without Maisie was just the start of it. I went from being active and outgoing to questioning whether I'd done anything wrong and not wanting to leave the house. Being told I wasn't to blame and that care failings caused Maisie's death was a huge relief."
"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."
The trust has admitted that Danielle should not have been discharged on either occasion. Bosses accepted that had Danielle remained in hospital, monitoring would have shown there was a need to speed up the birth and Maisie would have been born alive.
Ian Joy, executive director of nursing, midwifery and Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) at the Newcastle Hospitals NHS 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."
Irwin Mitchell has shared research the firm commissioned through pollster YouGov. Of 1,145 adults in England and Wales, 27% think maternity services are getting worse. By comparison, 22% said they were improving.
Faisal Ali, the legal expert at Irwin Mitchell who supported Danielle, said: "Pre-eclampsia is a serious pregnancy condition requiring close monitoring. Without appropriate care it can be potentially life-threatening for mums and babies. 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."
"Now is the time for meaningful action to be taken to improve care across the country so other families don't have to endure what Danielle and Anthony have had to go through."
