THE mum of a baby boy who died hours after he was born believes her son's death could have been prevented if hospital protocols were in place to spot complications.
Emma Owen, 22, spoke out after a fatal accident inquiry ruled the deaths of three other newborns at hospitals in Lanarkshire were avoidable.
The probe found the tragedies could have been prevented if their mothers had received proper health care in the days before their births and ultimately deaths.
The sheriff leading the investigation made 11 recommendations including the creation of a “trigger list” to identify and assess early labour symptoms and guidance on when women should attend for clinical assessment.
Emma's son Owen died at just under 24 hours old after being born at Wishaw General Hospital on July 1, 2023. In the week before his death, the mum-to-be attended the hospital's maternity unit four times with a sore head, swelling and general illness.
At the time, she was 35 weeks' pregnant and was sent home on each occasion with pain relief.
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1583517504/1742523956/articles/1BbYau9DpGVfVPdUbZsys/1069517601.jpg]
It wasn't until Emma couldn't sit or lie down due to the excruciating pain that she and her partner, Joe Turner, returned to the hospital and demanded to be properly seen.
After examinations, it emerged Emma had suffered a placenta abruption - when the placenta separates from the uterus before childbirth.
She was raced into theatre, where surgeons performed an emergency caesarean section before little Owen tragically died.
Recounting the devastating experience, Emma, from Hamilton, told the Record: “I knew something wasn't right so I went to the hospital and they sent me home with co-codamol.
“The headache never went away so I went back again the next day and they sent me home again.
“I kept telling them something wasn't right and they ended up finding protein in my urine.
“They were going to keep me in but instead, at the last minute, they sent me home again.
“When I started feeling contractions I thought they had just come early, I didn't know any difference because it was my first pregnancy.
“I was in so much pain, so we went back up to the hospital again.
“A doctor came in and felt my tummy and suspected I had a placenta abruption. I ha...
Emma Owen, 22, spoke out after a fatal accident inquiry ruled the deaths of three other newborns at hospitals in Lanarkshire were avoidable.
The probe found the tragedies could have been prevented if their mothers had received proper health care in the days before their births and ultimately deaths.
The sheriff leading the investigation made 11 recommendations including the creation of a “trigger list” to identify and assess early labour symptoms and guidance on when women should attend for clinical assessment.
Emma's son Owen died at just under 24 hours old after being born at Wishaw General Hospital on July 1, 2023. In the week before his death, the mum-to-be attended the hospital's maternity unit four times with a sore head, swelling and general illness.
At the time, she was 35 weeks' pregnant and was sent home on each occasion with pain relief.
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1583517504/1742523956/articles/1BbYau9DpGVfVPdUbZsys/1069517601.jpg]
It wasn't until Emma couldn't sit or lie down due to the excruciating pain that she and her partner, Joe Turner, returned to the hospital and demanded to be properly seen.
After examinations, it emerged Emma had suffered a placenta abruption - when the placenta separates from the uterus before childbirth.
She was raced into theatre, where surgeons performed an emergency caesarean section before little Owen tragically died.
Recounting the devastating experience, Emma, from Hamilton, told the Record: “I knew something wasn't right so I went to the hospital and they sent me home with co-codamol.
“The headache never went away so I went back again the next day and they sent me home again.
“I kept telling them something wasn't right and they ended up finding protein in my urine.
“They were going to keep me in but instead, at the last minute, they sent me home again.
“When I started feeling contractions I thought they had just come early, I didn't know any difference because it was my first pregnancy.
“I was in so much pain, so we went back up to the hospital again.
“A doctor came in and felt my tummy and suspected I had a placenta abruption. I ha...
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Daily Record (Digital) - 1 Issue, March 21, 2025