"If I had left with my daughter as planned, she would have died on the way home."

A mother's experience of Oxford University Hospitals Maternity Services in 2020:

In May 2020, I had my youngest daughter naturally and alone (during Covid). My placenta had to be manually removed without anaesthetic due to staff shortages, placing me and my daughter in recovery ward.

I spent four hours alone in pain and unable to care for my child waiting to be moved to the ward. I was finally moved to floor 6.

Within hours I was being told the dr would review my child and we would be discharged. We saw the doctor who immediately signed my daughter out. I explained she hadn’t fed, was very sleepy and struggled to latch. I was assured this was normal.

Upon packing to leave a midwife noticed when giving me my paperwork that my daughter was bright orange, she then arranged for her to have a jaundice check. (Aprox 20 min after seeing doctor).

My daughter seized and became unresponsive during the testing, needing urgent treatment in NICU. Upon review by a NICU dr, my daughter had red relex of eyes, a double tongue tie (impossible for her to latch) had no startle reflexes and extreme jaundice – this was within an hour of the ward doctor finding her fit to leave.

She should never had been discharged from ward. If I had left with my daughter as planned, she would have died on the way home.

She now has loss of hearing, couldn’t hold her head or sit till one, couldn’t speak till over two, was tube fed till almost three and at five is still in nappies.

I cannot fault the NICU however the maternity doctor has never been held responsible.