Mum's 'living nightmare' as baby died after she was 'abandoned' during labour
Emily Brazier had no idea her baby had been born until she came round alone, peeled back the covers and saw her baby Liliwen, completely still and lifeless
A baby died at just 20 hours old after her mum was 'abandoned' by midwives during active labour and given so much pain relief she had no idea her child had been born.
Emily Brazier has told how she was unable to call for help and now feels angry about being "abandoned when it really mattered", despite being monitored throughout her high-risk pregnancy. She gave birth at the University Hospital of Wales alone – and daughter Liliwen Iris Thomas died 20 hours later on October 10, 2022, after being starved of oxygen.
Emily and partner Rhodri Thomas, from Cardiff, are now sharing their 'total and utter devastation' at the 'wholly avoidable' death of their newborn baby, with Emily being diagnosed with PTSD as a result of her traumatic unattended delivery. She said: 'I am so angry at how I was left alone. For all the checks I had during my pregnancy, what were they for, if I was just going to be abandoned when it really mattered?
'I have very hazy memories of my labour after being given strong, mind-altering medication and being left unattended with the gas and air, which I heavily overused due to non-existent monitoring - but then I vividly remember peeling back the covers and seeing Liliwen there, completely still and lifeless. I can only describe it as a blood bath. That image will be with me forever. I still have flashbacks and nightmares and have been in counselling since it happened. I can't really describe the horror of what I saw.'
Rhodri has also described the guilt he felt at being asked to go home due to the maternity unit's policy of having no partners on the ward from 9pm to 9am, unless their partner was in active labour – which Emily was not at the time he left. He said: 'I should have been there; I could have been Emily's advocate. I would have pressed the call bell and alerted midwives that she was clearly in active labour and needed extra monitoring and help. If I had been there, our daughter would be alive today."
Emily was induced due to her having low Pregnancy Associated Plasma Protein A (PAPP-A) – the same as she had with older daughter Carys. She was under the care of a consultant and had several scans over the months to ensure the baby's welfare.
It was flagged that when giving birth to Carys three years previously, her labour progressed extremely quickly after she was given pethidine and Entonox pain medication, which she was administered again for Liliwen's birth.
Carys received extra monitoring by midwives post-pethidine, as it is known to cause respiratory depression in babies. Liliwen was due on October 7, 2022, so was booked in for an induction under PAPP-A protocols – but twice was sent home due to lack of bed availability.
Emily was eventually induced on October 9, but was told there was no room in the delivery suite. She was given pethidine and codeine for pain relief, as well as being left unattended with gas and air, at around 11.50pm. Emily recalls 'being in a cycle of puffing gas and air, passing out, and repeating'. She stirred eventually from her drowsiness enough to discover the horror of her daughter having already been born.
Emily said: 'It was absolute panic from that point, they took Liliwen away and rushed me up to the delivery suite, I had lost a lot of blood and needed stitches, IV fluids and a blood transfusion. All this happened while I was still on the induction ward, with only curtains around my bed separating me from four other women. It must have been horrendous for them too.
'After my labour with Carys, we knew the pain relief would speed things up very significantly. All of the extra monitoring I had throughout my pregnancy, it was almost pointless in the end – because when I really needed help, no one was there, and Liliwen paid the ultimate price.'
While the hospital contacted Rhodri to tell him he could now come in, he was not pre-warned about what he was about to face, and believed Emily was in labour.
'I got a taxi to the hospital and remember talking to the taxi driver excitedly about how I was about to meet my newborn child,' says Rhodri. 'When I got there and saw Emily, she was white as a ghost and in a bad way, she told me 'I don't know if our baby is alive'. I just couldn't believe it. I still can't.
"Staff gave me strange looks as soon as I entered the unit, and all along the corridors, but not one of them warned me what I was about to face on entering Emily's room.'
An internal hospital investigation revealed that some of the midwives caring for Liliwen were not compliant with Health Board training and were not able to effectively assist during the resuscitation attempts on Liliwen, until the crash team arrived and stabilised her.
Although Liliwen was put on life support in NICU, tragically she died later that same day. Emily and Rhodri had to make the unimaginable decision to switch off the machines, as there was no hope she would recover. Her cause of death was given as perinatal asphyxia (lack of oxygen at birth), congenital bacterial infection and placental problems.
'We were given a private room in NICU to cuddle and cherish Liliwen while she passed away. Little did we think the first time we'd hold her would be the last time,' Emily added.
Emily and Rhodri now struggle psychologically, and Emily – who was studying to be a nurse at the time she had Liliwen – has can no longer continue with her career after the trauma she suffered on a hospital ward. While the couple welcomed their third child, a son named Ellis, in December 2024, Emily says the grief of the loss of Liliwen continues to cast a shadow over the family's lives.
'So many happy memories and special family moments are tinged with sadness. I dread family events and Christmas as Liliwen will never be there, she will always be the missing piece, her death should never have happened and that's hard to live with. I look at the faces of my living children and long to know what Liliwen would look like now at two-and-a-half years old.
"I will never get over her death, I feel stuck in time. I will never be the same person again. Holding your child as they take their last breath, leaving them behind after their last ever cuddle, walking out of the hospital with an empty car seat, there are so many painful memories seared into my brain. I have lost my child, it's every parent's worst nightmare and we live the nightmare every single day.'
The couple have turned to law firm Slater and Gordon for support in pursuing a claim against Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, which manages University Hospital of Wales. The Board have admitted liability for their role in the tragedy.
Senior associate at Slater and Gordon, Lara Bennett, who has worked in clinical negligence for 20 years said: 'This is a truly shocking, almost unbelievable, case – I have never come across anything like this before.
'Emily's pregnancy was known to be high risk, she was known to progress quickly in labour – yet she was left all on her own, with so much pain medication she did not even realise she had given birth to Liliwen. The failures in this case are astonishing and Liliwen's death was wholly avoidable. We are supporting Emily and Rhodri in every way we can to secure justice for their daughter after the most unimaginable and traumatic ordeal.'
A Cardiff and Vale University Health Board spokesman told the Mirror: 'Our sincere thoughts and heartfelt condolences remain with Liliwen's family during this incredibly difficult time. The Health Board is fully engaged with the inquest process and it would be inappropriate to comment further until the inquest concludes.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South Wales Guardian
10 hours ago
- South Wales Guardian
Kate praises work of children's hospices days after missing Royal Ascot
Kate paid tribute to the support provided by the 54 institutions that specialise in caring for society's youngest at the end of their lives and 'lifting spirits through laughter, fun and play'. In a surprise move on Wednesday, Kate missed Royal Ascot for the second successive year as she seeks the right balance following her treatment for cancer. Since announcing in January she is in remission, the princess has been gradually returning to public duties. Her appearances have increased in recent weeks, attending three high-profile events – Trooping the Colour, the annual Order of the Garter service, and a visit to a V&A storage facility in London. It is understood Kate is trying to find the right balance as she fully returns to public-facing engagements that have featured an element of flexibility since her cancer diagnosis. Kate's written message, posted on social media ahead of the end of Children's Hospice Week this weekend, said: 'No parent expects to hear that their child has a serious health condition that could shorten their life. 'Sadly, this is the reality faced by thousands of families across the country, leaving them heart-broken, fearful of the future and often desperately isolated.' Speaking in her role as royal patron of two children's hospices, she added: 'Being able to access the support of one of the UK's 54 children's hospices means they don't have to face that future alone. 'As patron of East Anglia's Children's Hospices and Ty Hafan Children's Hospice in South Wales, I have the immense privilege of seeing for myself the extraordinary work of our children's hospices. 'Lifting spirits through laughter, fun and play, as well as listening, holding, caring and sharing, they support children and families through life, death and beyond. 'This Children's Hospice Week, I hope you will join me in celebrating the life-changing work they do and thanking them for the vital care they provide to children and families experiencing the most challenging times.' The national Children's Hospice Week is led by children's palliative care charity Together for Short Lives and the event is dedicated to raising awareness of children's hospice services. Nick Carroll, chief executive officer of Together for Short Lives, said about Kate: ''Her ongoing support for Children's Hospice Week over many years has helped to raise much-needed awareness of the life-changing work children's hospices do, every day of the year. 'Their extraordinary lifeline care for children with life-limiting and life-threatening illnesses enables families to make the most of their lives together, whether that's for years, months or only hours.'
Evening Standard
11 hours ago
- Evening Standard
Kate praises work of children's hospices days after missing Royal Ascot
Since announcing in January she is in remission, the princess has been gradually returning to public duties. Her appearances have increased in recent weeks, attending three high-profile events – Trooping the Colour, the annual Order of the Garter service, and a visit to a V&A storage facility in London.
Daily Mail
11 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Billionaire Rihanna reveals surprisingly budget pregnancy craving… while ex Chris Brown returns to court
Rihanna may be worth over $1.4 billion, but she's not too rich for a fast food fix. The 37-year-old superstar, currently expecting her third child with A$AP Rocky, was spotted indulging a budget-friendly craving at the iconic Southern California burger chain Fatburger on Friday. Dressed in a ruffled light brown summer dress with a baseball cap and Puma sneakers, the Fenty Beauty mogul looked runway-ready—even with a fast food drink in hand. Pregnancy craving or not, she still pulled off her signature style with ease. Rihanna appeared in high spirits during the outing, despite still mourning the loss of her father Ronald Fenty, who tragically passed away in May at age 70. Meanwhile, her ex Chris Brown was back in court—this time in the UK—where he pleaded not guilty to an alleged bottle attack at a London nightclub. Appearing at Southwark Crown Court this morning, 36-year-old singer pleaded not guilty to charges stemming from an alleged assault on music producer Abraham Diaw in February 2023. Brown—who previously made headlines in 2009 for violently assaulting then-girlfriend Rihanna, a case that led to a felony conviction and lasting public backlash—is now accused of attempting to inflict grievous bodily harm with intent. Prosecutors allege that Brown, alongside co-defendant Omololu Akinlolu, 38—a rapper and producer from Dallas—carried out the attack at the Tape nightclub in Hanover Square, Mayfair, on February 19, 2023. Both men face charges of causing grievous bodily harm and assault occasioning actual bodily harm. In addition, Brown is facing a separate charge for possession of an offensive weapon. Meanwhile, Rihanna has not yet publicly addressed the death of her father. Previously, Rihanna and her father were estranged before they eventually reconciled in recent years. In 2019, she sued her dad and claimed he capitalized on her business empire. In her filing, she alleged that his Fenty Management talent firm profited off of her Fenty Beauty line and other trademarked eponymous ventures. Two years later, she filed to dismiss the lawsuit and had seemingly mended her relationship with him. In 2023, when Rihanna and Rocky were expecting their second child together, Fenty gushed over his daughter and shared his excitement of becoming a grandfather to another one of their babies. Fenty shared three children with his ex-wife Braithwaite including Rihanna, Rajad and Rorrey. Around the time Rihanna's career in music was taking off in 2002, her parents split up. In addition to Rihanna, Fenty is survived by his grandchildren including Rihanna and Rocky's sons RZA, two, Riot Rose, 18 months, and their baby on the way. He is also survived by his other children Rajad, Rorrey as well as Kandy, Samantha, Jamie and multiple grandchildren. Last month, Rihanna insisted her new album won't be delayed too much by her pregnancy. Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, the Umbrella hitmaker was asked if the album - which has been dubbed 'R9' - will be 'put on pause even longer'. She insisted: 'No, maybe a couple of videos.'
