Baby loss couple: We were told we'd picked a bad day to give birth

Key developments are emerging from the global stage. Baby loss couple: We were told we'd picked a bad day to give birthJust now Share Save Add as preferred on GoogleCharlotte RoseEast investigationsLaurence Cawley/BBCMcCreadys have been left wondering if their daughter Lois might be alive today had more checks been carried outWarning: This article contains discussions of stillbirth"We were so excited," says Lauryn McCready, remembering the moment she and her husband Andrew learnt they were expecting a baby. The couple's pregnancy had come in the wake of several miscarriages. They kept the gender "a surprise", but told friends and family their happy news and spent months preparing their home for the new arrival.

But joy and anticipation turned to despair and grief after mistakes were made during Lauryn's labour and their daughter Lois was stillborn. Her death was one of 2,341 stillbirths across England and Wales that year which left families devastated. The couple, from Luton, have now given evidence to the Amos Inquiry, a national review of maternity care, in the hope it drives improvement so that other families do not share their experience.

The Details

Following an uncomplicated pregnancy, primary school teacher Lauryn and her husband Andrew, a carpenter, say they "didn't have too much of a plan" beyond an expected vaginal delivery at Luton and Dunstable Hospital. She says she went in to hospital with a "naive trust" that she was in safe hands and "everything would work out. "More than a week overdue and with contractions that had begun 48 hours earlier, she arrived at the maternity ward at around 22:00 on 4 September, 2023.

The department that evening, she says, was extremely busy. "You picked a bad day to have a baby," she remembers a midwife told her. It was an "off the cuff comment", says Andrew, but the phrase haunts them to this day.

Lauryn McCready said she had a "blind trust" that midwives and clinicians would "know what to do"Lauryn spent 28 hours in the maternity triage unit, where the couple claim they overheard nurses discussing staff shortages and a colleague who had not turned up for work. The baby's heartbeat was monitored and Lauryn had eight vaginal examinations, which showed her labour was not progressing. At just after 02:00 on 6 September staff detected the baby's heart rate dropping; during a cervical examination Lauryn's waters broke.

What Experts Say

After an obstetrician reviewed her case Lauryn was moved onto the labour ward and, according to her medical notes, a call was made at about 03:30 for a Category 1 caeserean section (C-Section), which should take place within 30 minutes. The couple claim they were never informed of this and the urgency of the operation was then downgraded. But 45 minutes later, when clinicians could not detect a heart rate, it was decided the baby should be delivered immediately.

If you've been affected by the issues raised in this story, help and support is available via the Action LineThe couple claim there was then a gear shift in which things went "from zero to a hundred".

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.