Baby died after midwives missed her mother’s blood loss while relying on telephone assessments, report finds 

• Baby Abigail Miller died 48 hours after being born via emergency C-section
• An inquest found she would have survived if her mother was in hospital sooner 

A baby died after midwives relying on telephone assessments repeatedly missed signs her mother was in danger during labour and failed to bring her into hospital, a report found.

Abigail Miller died 48 hours after being born by emergency C-section in a hospital reception area as her mother Katie Fowler went into cardiac arrest.

An independent investigation revealed midwives only spoke to Ms Fowler over the phone and had twice missed chances to bring her in for assessment. They also failed to call an emergency ambulance when her condition deteriorated.

An inquest last week found Abigail would have survived if her mother had gone into hospital sooner. Now Ms Fowler, 37, and her husband Rob Miller, 39, have joined other bereaved families in calling for a statutory inquiry into England’s maternity services.

‘The midwives were under extreme pressure – they were very stretched that night,’ Mr Miller said. ‘This wasn’t about individual mistakes but about systemic problems.’

An inquest last week found Abigail would have survived if her mother had gone into hospital sooner

Ms Fowler survived after two days in a coma and was able to meet her daughter but Abigail died in her parents’ arms later that day

The couple had phoned the maternity unit at the Royal Sussex County Hospital, Brighton, four times on January 21, 2022, after Ms Fowler went into labour on her due date. Two calls reported blood loss.

But they were told to remain at home until after their fourth call at 7pm. At that point, Mr Miller said his wife had gone pale with blue lips and was struggling to breathe.

But midwives said it was probably a panic attack and told the couple to make their own way to hospital.

In fact, Ms Fowler had massive internal bleeding caused by a uterine rupture (a rare complication where the womb tears). The blood loss caused her heart to stop as their taxi arrived at the hospital.

Doctors rushed to perform emergency surgery on Ms Fowler and created a resuscitation area on two chairs to try to stabilise Abigail.

Ms Fowler survived after two days in a coma and was able to meet her daughter but Abigail died in her parents’ arms later that day.

Ms Fowler, 37, and her husband Rob Miller, 39, have joined other bereaved families in calling for a statutory inquiry into England’s maternity services

Grieving father Robert Miller pictured with his daughter Abigail

Ms Fowler said everything could have been different if she had been in hospital earlier. ‘We were badly let down. We could have been spared this trauma,’ she added.

The inquiry by the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch added that a phone advice line ‘is not designed to provide a diagnosis’.

The couple’s lawyer Nisha Sharma, of Slater and Gordon, said: ‘If Katie had been given different advice, Abigail would have survived.’

University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust said it has improved staffing levels, training and its telephone triage service.

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