This Baby Loss Awareness week, we are sharing Alana’s story. Alana’s son, Arlo, died in 2023 shortly after he was born.
What happened
This was Alana’s first pregnancy, and everything went well until the last week of pregnancy when her blood pressure was raised. She was offered an induction of labour and this was started the following afternoon.
Her labour was very slow, and 2 days later her waters were broken by the staff. Her contractions steadily increased and within a few hours, she had the urge to push. Arlo’s heartrate was being monitored by a CTG (cardiotocography) machine. A CTG listens to the baby’s heartrate and records this onto graph paper so that the midwives and doctors can monitor the baby’s heartrate over a period of time.
Arlo’s CTG started to show that he was struggling during Alana’s labour as his heartrate kept dropping (decelerations). The CTG also wasn’t able to record Arlo’s heartrate at all times so the staff applied a fetal scalp electrode as well. This is a small clip that attaches to the skin on the top of the baby’s head to more accurately record their heartrate.
Alana was reviewed by a doctor, but they felt that everything was fine and they would check on her again in 4 hours. Alana started pushing around an hour later.
Arlo’s heartrate continued to drop, for longer periods of time and the midwives were concerned. Therefore, the doctor was asked to review Alana again. The doctor assessed Alana and advised that she needed to be moved to theatre so they could try and deliver Arlo there, with forceps. They discussed their advice with Alana, but did not mention that the staff had been concerned about Arlo’s heartrate. It was their opinion that the CTG was fine at this time. Alana agreed to be moved to theatre.
Arlo was born around 45 minutes later and was very poorly. He did not cry or breathe on his own and became limp so he was passed to the neonatal team for help. They attempted to resuscitate Arlo, but sadly it was unsuccessful. The staff recorded that he died at 46 minutes of age.
An inquest was held and the Coroner concluded Arlo’s death was due to natural causes.
Enable Law’s role
Nicola Rawlinson-Weller, baby loss specialist from Enable Law supported Alana throughout the case.
Our role was to ensure that Alana got answers to her questions and that the Hospital Trust was transparent when reflecting on the standard of care given. This was particularly important for Alana in light of the Coroner’s conclusion.
We were able to achieve this through the legal claim, with the Hospital admitting that the CTG was not correctly interpreted during Alana’s labour, and that the doctors should have decided to deliver Arlo by an emergency c-section earlier. Had this happened, Arlo’s death would have been avoided.
Nicola said “The death of Arlo has understandably had a devastating impact on Alana and her family. This has been made harder by the knowledge that errors were made and that Arlo’s death could have been avoided. I’m pleased that the Hospital took full responsibility for this, to ensure that lessons were learned, and that we were able to reach a settlement. Whilst no amount of money can bring Arlo back, I hope that Alana can use it to get any support that she needs, and to help build a positive legacy in Arlo’s honour.”
Following Arlo’s death, Alana has called for clearer communication and better support for parents during emergencies, allowing them to make informed decisions about their care and understand the seriousness of what is happening.
Support available
If you have experienced any form of baby loss and feel that you need support, there are numerous charities that can help, including Sands, Aching Arms, Petals, Teddy’s Wish and Daddys with Angels.
Are you concerned about whether something went wrong during your pregnancy or after your baby was born?
A medical negligence claim is an opportunity for parents and their families to make sure the same mistakes are not repeated again. If you have any worries or concerns about the care you or your baby received, Enable Law’s specialist baby loss team can work with you to help you get the answers you need.
We recognise the devastating impact that losing a baby has on all of the family. We will work with you to determine what happened and whether the care provided was substandard. We are committed to helping you get the answers you need and supporting you every step of the way.
If you have questions about the care you or your baby received and believe mistakes were made, we are here to help. Contact us today.
