Father forced to deliver own baby in maternity ward after midwife goes missing during labour

Published 01st Feb 2010

A father was forced to deliver his own baby in a maternity ward after the midwife abandoned them.

Thomas Howard, 33, frantically pressed the emergency buzzer to alert staff at the Royal Blackburn Hospital, Lancashire, for help when he realised the newborn's arrival was imminent.

But when no one at the maternity suite arrived to deliver the baby, he had to act.

Father-of-five Mr Howard said by the time the midwife had returned, his partner Emily Baron had already given birth.

Emily, 26, had been taken to hospital after going into labour. After arranging for family members to look after their other children, Thomas arrived half an hour later and noticed Emily was losing blood.

'When I asked the midwife if this was normal she said she didn't know, which didn't fill me with confidence at all,' said Mr Howard.

'I pressed the buzzer to get some assistance, but nobody came and I decided that I would have to step in.

'I have never done anything like it before, but I've seen others do it a few times, so I had a rough idea'

'She then went away, leaving me and Emily on our own. It was then I noticed the baby's head coming through. I pressed the buzzer to get some assistance, but nobody came and I decided that I would have to step in.

'I have never done anything like it before, but I've seen others do it a few times, so I had a rough idea.

'The baby was lying at the end of the bed between Emily's legs and I was cleaning the mucous out of her mouth and making sure she could breathe when the midwife came back in.

'I was in shock at what had happened but the nurse didn't say anything to me. She just carried on as if it was normal.'

Madeline Louise Howard was born at 8.15am last Tuesday weighing 4lb 15oz.

The couple are angry at the poor care they received and were worried because of problems at previous births. Thomas and Emily have four other children - Reece, nine, Dylan, six, Adam, two, and one-year-old Deni.

The National Childbirth Trust (NCT) have also criticised the hospital's treatment as an example of the midwife shortage facing the UK.

An NCT spokesperson said: 'Being left alone in labour in hospital is unacceptable.

'As a civilised society we must ensure this basic need of women is met. Having a midwife with you when you give birth is vital to ensure there are no complications.'
thomas howard of blackburn

Madeline briefly opens her eyes. The National Childbirth Trust have criticised the hospital's treatment as an example of the midwife shortage facing the UK

Mr Howard, of Blackburn, added: 'I know that these nurses are busy and work very hard, but I feel the department is understaffed.

'My one-year-old daughter was born with a cleft lip, and Adam had breathing difficulties at birth. They both needed assistance at delivery, and if this had happened to them, I dread to think what the outcome would have been.

'It's just a massive relief that this has gone okay and she's doing well.'

Only a fortnight ago the Nursing and Midwifery Council said the midwifery profession is 'still playing catch-up' after a report warned Britain's rising birth rate was leading to a shortage of staff.

The NMC said there were midwife shortages in many areas of the country faced with a spiralling number of births.

NMC chief executive Professor Dickon Weir-Hughes declared: 'Although successful efforts have been made to boost the numbers of midwives in many regions, others are still lagging behind.

'This problem could worsen as a significant proportion of experienced midwives and supervisors of midwives are now approaching retirement age.

'The NMC urges maternity service providers, related health authorities and the UK health departments to monitor the situation and act swiftly if Local Supervising Authorities raise concerns about the quality of care provided to mothers and babies.'

Ruth Gildert, divisional general manager in Family Care for East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, apologised to the couple for having to deliver their daughter alone.

She said: 'I would like to apologise to Ms Baron and her partner for the distress they experienced when their baby was born at Royal Blackburn Hospital.

'We cannot comment in detail for reasons of patient confidentially but our midwives supervise all women very closely during labour.

'However there may, on some occasions, be the need to briefly leave the room and a baby can be born unexpectedly quickly, especially if this is not the mother's first child.

'As a result of the concerns expressed we will be looking very closely into what happened and we will be contacting the family directly to discuss their concerns with them. We understand both mother and baby are doing well.'

But medical expert Dr Tom Smith said: 'There is no excuse for leaving a woman in the final stages of labour. There should have been someone at there at the birth.

'If there had been a problem it could have been very serious, for instance if the cord had wrapped around the baby's neck it could have been starved of oxygen or if the woman began bleeding heavily she could have lost consciousness.

'This family should take the matter further.'

The Department of Health has vowed to boost midwife resources and claimed to have pumped millions of pounds into maternity services.

A spokesperson said: 'We have made it clear that maternity services should remain a priority for the NHS and have invested an additional £330million.

'However, ring-fencing funding is outdated and prevents the local NHS from spending budgets as it sees fit to meet the needs of local communities.

'We have set a goal to recruit an extra 4,000 midwives by 2012 and the NHS has already exceeded an interim target to recruit 1,000 by September this year, which shows the high priority being given to maternity services.'

Source: ' Daily Mail '

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