A first-time mum grieving the death of her baby girl says more scans during pregnancy should be made available on the NHS.
Jade Hutchins’ daughter Louella was stillborn at 38 weeks, but a post-mortem revealed her placenta had stopped growing at 24 weeks – a month after her last routine NHS scan.
When Jade and her partner Dylan found out they were having a baby, they were overjoyed and immediately started to plan for the future.
But their happiness turned to heartbreak when they were told their daughter’s heart had stopped beating at 38 weeks gestation.
“That was the most devastating feeling in the world”, said Jade. “I felt instant shock, anger, confusion…asking ‘is this something I have done?’
“I was told Louella’s heart had stopped beating, yet I still had to deliver her naturally – that’s horrific. No one should ever have to feel that experience, that pain.”
In the days that followed, a post-mortem by NHS Forth Valley revealed that Jade’s placenta stopped growing at 24 weeks, just one month after her last routine scan.
Jade, from Stirling, now says she should have received additional scans after telling doctors “something didn’t feel right”.
STV News“I had told the doctors what kind of symptoms I had”, the 30-year-old explained. “Excruciating back pain, tight pains around the stomach…really bad sickness, but I felt like I just got ignored and pushed to the side. They said things like take hot baths and regular paracetamol.
“Perhaps if I was given those scans, it would have detected those problems earlier. If I was listened to more, maybe they could have spotted signs earlier. Louella could have maybe been here today.”
Currently the NHS offers scans at 12 and 20 weeks, but Jade is calling for more screening – especially for mums who can’t afford private healthcare.
She said: “Always speak up – you know your own body. The NHS should offer more scans; not everyone can afford private ones.”
The Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Charity “Sands” reports that around 13 babies die shortly before, during or soon after birth every day in the UK.
Despite this, the charity says it remains a “taboo subject”.
Bereavement support services coordinator Joanne Robison, said: “At the moment there are still many causes of stillbirth that aren’t understood and can’t be predicted.
“We have a list of things in Sands that people shouldn’t say to somebody about baby loss. Things like: ‘At least you didn’t get to know the baby’; ‘At least you know you can have a baby’; ‘It’ll be okay when you have another one’… and it is ignorance, people don’t know what to say.”
Jade has expressed frustration with the lack of support she has received since her loss, particularly in accessing counselling.
“I feel like there’s not been any support at all”, she said. “I’ve been trying for the past year really to get counselling and I just feel like no one is really interested.
“Stillbirth happens a lot more than people realise, but it’s not spoken about enough.”
A spokesperson for NHS Forth Valley said: “We are unable to comment on individual cases, but we would encourage anyone who has concerns or questions regarding their care and treatment to contact our patient relations team so they can look into the issues raised and respond directly.”
This is something Jade intends to do.
STV NewsMeanwhile, a Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The loss of a baby at any stage of pregnancy is devastating and our thoughts are with anyone affected.
“While we cannot comment on individual cases, women are offered monitoring in a range of ways during pregnancy, including through ultrasound scans, to check their wellbeing and the health and development of their baby.
“In individual cases, additional scans beyond the standard number may be advised as appropriate by the clinical team involved.”
As the anniversary of Louella’s death approaches, Jade and Dylan continue to grieve, but they find comfort in the time they had with Louella thanks to the provision of a cold cot by Forth Valley Royal Hospital.
Jade said: “We got to spend a precious five days with her, which were very, very hard – but looking back I’m grateful and I’m so glad we got to spend that precious time with her.
“We speak about her in conversations on a daily basis… mark her milestones… as we would if she was with us.
“It’s important to speak about them. I don’t think it should be swept under the carpet.”
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