Image – Shutterstock: NHS Building
A grieving mother has spoken of her anguish after being left alone to deliver her premature baby, who died three months later, and says she fears she will never receive the answers she needs.
Ashley Lamb’s daughter Lexie was born at just 23 weeks in July 2021 after what Lamb believes was a series of serious failings in her care under Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, which is already under investigation in the largest maternity review in NHS history. Although the trust has since settled a negligence claim, it has not admitted liability, and Lamb says she is still searching for accountability.
She underwent an amniocentesis procedure a week before going into early labour. She was told there was a small risk of miscarriage, but says she was not warned about the possibility of early labour or that the procedure might require multiple attempts. During the procedure, she says doctors inserted a needle four times to collect fluid, something later described as “not normal” in a letter from the trust. A consultant also admitted that Lexie’s premature birth was “a result” of the procedure.
The ordeal that followed was traumatic. Lamb recalled being left with a midwife in the delivery room and, when she felt the need to push, the midwife left to find help. Alone and terrified, she delivered her daughter herself before staff arrived moments later. Lexie was born severely premature and faced numerous complications. Despite surgeries and repeated resuscitations, she died after three months in intensive care when doctors decided to turn off the machines keeping her alive.
The trust has apologised for Lamb’s experience and said it will learn from the case, but she remains unconvinced that lessons have been learned. “It was never about money,” she said. “I just wanted answers, but I don’t think we will ever get them.”
Her story is one of hundreds being examined by an ongoing independent review, launched after numerous baby deaths and injuries, and a corporate manslaughter investigation is also under way. Her experience highlights how vulnerable lives can be lost not only before birth but after when medics ignore them due to their size.
SPUC says life is precious and we lament the death of baby Lexie.
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