Mother calls for stillbirth inquest law change

"You hear his heartbeat and the next thing you know, you've got nothing."

A woman whose son was stillborn has said she wants to change the law to enable an inquest to investigate the circumstances surrounding his death.

Katie Wood's son Oscar was stillborn on 29 March 2015, but under law in England and Wales, inquests for stillborn babies cannot take place.

A consultation was put out by the UK government in March 2019, but the findings have yet to be published. The UK government said it would set out its response in due course, but this delay was criticised by the House of Commons justice committee in September.

Katie and her family said they have never received satisfactory answers about why Oscar died.

Her pregnancy, while challenging, had not given any serious cause for concern.

An investigation by the Aneurin Bevan health board found a number of failings in Katie's care.

A post-mortem examination suggested a condition known as shoulder dystocia, where the baby's shoulder becomes stuck during birth, may have contributed, but this is rarely fatal.

The health board said it conducted a serious incident investigation into Oscar's death and added: "Whilst we seek to find answers during any investigation, in some cases, a full understanding around the cause of death may not always be achieved and we accept the unavoidable distress this may pose for families."

Clinical negligence and medical law specialist, Mari Rosser, says allowing coroners to look into the reasons for a baby's death is long overdue.

"Currently parents who suffer a still birth can have the circumstances investigated, but the circumstances are investigated by the health board and of course that's less independent," she said.

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Source: BBC News, 9 December 2021