Mum's horror after baby died when midwife refused to call ambulance three times

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A devastated mother has revealed her ongoing struggle with PTSD following the tragic loss of her newborn daughter. Laura Bowtell endured a harrowing ordeal during labour at Cheltenham Birth Centre, pleading with midwives for an ambulance six hours into giving birth to baby Margot.

Despite multiple requests, midwife Lisa Land suggested alternative methods such as "oils" and changing positions. Only after repeated pleas did she concede, by which point Margot's condition had deteriorated, leading to her life support being switched off three days later.

Both Lisa Land and another midwife implicated in the incident, Hazel Williams, have been removed from their professional roles after the death of little Margot and another baby, Jasper White.

An independent review by the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch into the circumstances surrounding Margot’s death uncovered critical flaws. Their report indicated that Ms Bowtell should have been transferred to Gloucestershire Royal Hospital much earlier amid complications, potentially saving Margot's life.

As a consequence of these tragic events, the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) panel struck off the two midwives, condemning their grave misjudgement. The panel declared: "[Their] misconduct has breached fundamental tenets of the midwifery profession, particularly in relation to not transferring Baby A or Patient B which the panel considered to be fundamental basic midwifery care."

"Further, the panel considered [their] attempt to cover up [their] actions with inaccurate and dishonest record keeping to be a breach of the fundamental tenets of the midwifery profession and therefore brought its reputation into disrepute. It was of the view that such acts or omissions could discourage members of the public to seek midwifery services at a birthing unit."

Mrs Bowtell, who previously worked in aviation, now has a 10-month-old daughter born via C-section, reports the Mirror. However, she confessed: "The PTSD I have will stay with me for the rest of my life".

Speaking to Mail Online, the 37-year-old mum added: "Margot would still be here and I wouldn't have to live with this for the rest of our lives."

In both Margot's case and that of Jasper, 11 months prior, the midwives failed to call the ambulance soon enough, which had tragic consequences. The pair also altered medical records to make it appear like Jasper - who was struggling to breathe and was a "pale colour" - was in a better condition than he was.

"It was my first pregnancy so you don't know what to expect. I completely put my trust in the midwives. She was very chilled, she kept telling me I was low risk," Ms Bowtell continued.

"They told me I would be transferred if I needed it and she was very confident in her ability to spot when that would be needed. When I went into labour at midnight, Lisa was on the night shift and I felt at ease. She was the main person throughout. She arrived and I couldn't keep anything down, I was running on empty. My contractions weren't giving me enough to push. She assumed all of this was normal.

"She should have transferred me to Gloucester. I first asked for an ambulance at 10am, I was exhausted. But she wanted to try lots of oils and things instead."

In the weeks prior to giving birth, Mrs Bowtell experienced a minor haemorrhage and decreased foetal movement—indicators that necessitated a risk assessment and a transfer to a hospital with obstetric care, as per standard procedure, by midwife Mrs Land. During the early hours of May 14, 2020, amid labour, concerning signs emerged: Mrs Bowtell noticed blood in her amniotic fluid and suffered from low body temperature, both alarm signals that should have prompted an urgent call for an ambulance.

The newborn, Margot, required immediate resuscitation after delivery and was rushed to the neonatal intensive care unit; however, tragically, she succumbed to complications related to oxygen deprivation three days later.

During the birth, her foetal heartbeat dropped below 60bpm, a situation that should have triggered an emergency response from the entire unit, led by Miss Williams as the lead midwife. However, this did not occur as Miss Williams used the regular call bell to request assistance instead of the emergency bell.

She regularly turned off the emergency bell as she wanted the centre to feel like a 'home from home', without constant alarms sounding.

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