Hospital told me baby was dead, says mum

An obstetric consultant has apologised to a pregnant woman who was incorrectly told this week her baby had been dead for five weeks.

Aimee Nolan presented at Midland Regional Hospital in Portlaoise on Monday after her GP became concerned about a lack of foetal movements.

After a two-hour wait, Ms Nolan said she was informed of her child’s death and was asked to come back for a dilation and curettage (D&C) – a procedure to scrape and collect tissue from inside the uterus. When she returned to the hospital two days ago another scan showed her baby alive and with a healthy heartbeat.

Speaking to Will Faulkner on Midlands 103, Ms Nolan explained the woman who conducted the initial scan said her baby had died five weeks earlier — that her baby was measuring at nine weeks when it should have be measuring at 14 weeks.

“She basically scanned me straight away, for literally two seconds, and just as blunt as you like she just said ‘I’m very sorry but we can’t detect a heartbeat’ and that ‘your baby’s dead’. I just looked at my husband in shock. I didn’t know what to do,” said Ms Nolan.

Two days later, Ms Nolan and her husband returned to the hospital for a D&C and underwent what was intended to be one final scan.

She described the staff she encountered on this occasion as being helpful and sensitive to her situation.

“When she put the thing on me to scan me, straight away I seen that the baby had a heartbeat because it was flickering away and it looked like a normal size to me,” said Ms Nolan.

“They all just kept looking at each other like ‘How was this woman told that her baby is dead?’” She was told her baby was not only alive, but was measuring at the correct size for 14 weeks and had a healthy heartbeat.

“I didn’t know whether to laugh, cry, lash out, ask what the hell happened… why were we told our baby was dead and then when we come in two days later it’s not measuring nine weeks, it’s actually measuring 14 weeks and it has a heartbeat?”

Ms Nolan said following the second scan, a staff member requested her patient file to see who conducted the initial scan on Monday. She said this person subsequently found Ms Nolan’s file had no scan picture, no baby measurement, and no record of anything carried out during her appointment on Monday.

Ms Nolan says the situation caused her a huge amount of stress and grief.

“We had all of our family and friends told. We were grieving for this baby. I was inconsolable,” she said. “I rang my own GP and she said I could have easily miscarried my baby after hearing the news of that because I was so inconsolable.”

Ms Nolan has decided not to have her baby at Midland Regional. “I’m going to my GP today to have all my files sent over to Mullingar. I just don’t feel comfortable. I’d be uneasy having my baby in Portlaoise,” she said.

“Something has to be done about this. If we all don’t stand up and speak about it it’s going to keep happening and innocent babies are going to die because of it.”

In a statement, the HSE revealed a consultant obstetrician met with the family yesterday and apologised.

“The management of the Maternity Services at MRHP wish to apologise for any distress caused to the woman concerned and her family,” the statement read.