After being sent home, North Shields mother Danielle Brown was told to make appointment to give birth to dead baby

An urgent delivery was planned

Brown, 31, and Miller, 34, were looking forward to the birth of their daughter, Maisie. In February 2023, when Brown was seven months pregnant, she felt unwell and they went to Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital in Cramlington.

Medics identified concerns with Maisie’s heart rate and said she needed to be delivered by emergency caesarean. Brown said a midwife told her a place was being arranged at Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary, where doctors would perform the operation. A consultant told her she would stay in hospital until Maisie was born.

Brown returned feeling unwell

Doctors could not find Maisie’s heartbeat and told Brown that her baby had died. Brown said the experience of holding her daughter for the first time was devastating. The couple held Maisie two days after learning of her death.

Family asks hospitals to change

Brown said mothers should not be sent home while carrying a baby who has died. She recalled leaving hospital after a final cuddle and kiss with Maisie, saying the family had expected to leave with their baby but instead left with a memory box.

Brown and Miller want hospitals across the UK to provide another exit for parents who have lost a child. Miller described the experience as “horrible” to lie beside Brown, holding her belly while knowing their baby was no longer alive.

Trust apologises over care

Ian Joy, the trust’s executive director of nursing and midwifery, said it accepted that parts of the care provided fell short of the standards the family was entitled to expect and offered a heartfelt apology. Faisal Ali, a legal executive at Irwin Mitchell, said pre-eclampsia could be life-threatening without appropriate care. He said the trust admitted Brown should not have been discharged on 14 or 15 February 2023, and that monitoring in hospital would have shown delivery needed to be expedited.