Gaynor Savarnejad lost her baby during what should have been a straightforward caesarean section six years ago. She’s since fought to discover the reasons why things went so tragically wrong. Gaynor is a member of Baby Lifeline’s Family Voices Group.
As a member of the public, it’s not until something goes wrong for you – or for a friend or family member – that you become aware of the potential hazards that exist before, during, and immediately after birth.
I lost my son, Louis, during what should have been a straightforward caesarean section six years ago, and I’ve spent much of the time since fighting to discover the reasons why things went so tragically wrong for us.
The important thing I’ve learned – and it’s a lesson I want to pass on to everyone going through their maternity journey – is to trust your own instincts, and to ask the questions you need to ask.
I now know that when I was in labour with Louis, there were many complications and factors that resulted in an ‘obstructed labour’. This can happen when a baby is presenting ‘face up’ and the angle of his head prevents the progress of natural labour.
Louis’ head was therefore ‘deeply impacted’, which led to the complications during the emergency caesarean section. ‘Impacted fetal head’ is when a baby’s head has already descended into the mother’s pelvis and is therefore more challenging to deliver a baby safely.
At no point during Louis’ birth was I told what was happening, the decisions that were being made, or the risks involved – and I should have been.
Having come to the end of a six-year-long legal battle, I wanted to get involved with Baby Lifeline, and I’m excited to have joined the charity’s Family Voices Group with the aim of contributing towards making births safer for other families.
I specifically want to raise awareness around deeply impacted heads during caesarean sections, and to do what I can to ensure the provision of training that could help prevent future tragedies from occurring.
I also want to use my experience to help Baby Lifeline to bring other mothers, birthing people, and their family members together with midwives, obstetricians, neonatologists, obstetric anaesthetists, GPs, paramedics – and everybody else who is interested in maternity safety – to improve maternity car
“At no point during Louis’ birth was I told what was happening, the
decisions that were being made, or the risks involved – and I should have
been.”Gaynor Savarnejad
Tweet
During recent years, I’ve found myself reading the reports published as a result of the series of high-profile investigations into maternity services – most recently the East Kent report, chaired by Baby Lifeline Honorary President Dr Bill Kirkup and published in October 2022. These reports relate to families up and down the country who have shared their stories.
I feel for the families who haven’t been able to get the answers they need, and therefore feel unable to move on with their lives, as I know how much it means to have them.
Baby Lifeline believes there have now been enough stringent recommendations made through the various reports, as well as enough clarity around immediate actions, to be able to begin making essential improvements to maternity services across the UK.
I’m supporting the charity’s #enoughisenough campaign, through which it is calling for everyone who cares about maternity services to pledge to take individual and collective action.
My individual action involves sharing my story – including why I felt I needed to go down the legal route to get the information I needed. I want to use my voice to let others know they have a voice too; one they can use to direct their care.
At the time of Louis’s death, people tried to console me, saying, ‘These things happen,’ but I couldn’t accept that. For myself, Louis, the rest of our family, and the many other families who’d experienced harm and loss during caesarean sections, I had to do whatever it would take to find out exactly what had gone wrong.
I’ve also been raising money for Baby Lifeline, so it can continue its research identifying gaps in training within maternity services, and to fill voids in skills and knowledge within the NHS through its social enterprise, Baby Lifeline Training. In October last year, I ran the Great Scottish Run, raising more than £600 for the charity.
It’s become clear to me that change is going to have to be driven by charities like Baby Lifeline, and through ongoing independent investigations, such as the Independent Review into Maternity Services at the Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, which is being led by Baby Lifeline Honorary President Donna Ockenden.
I believe slow progress is being made – there’s certainly a lot more out there about maternity safety than there was six years ago.
It’s only through continuing to work together that we will be able to force the dial shift that so badly needs to happen, improving the outcomes for mothers, birthing people, and babies, in future.