Parents who lost their son at 14 days old opened up on BBC Breakfast on Thursday (February 26)
Parents who lost their baby opened up on BBC Breakfast(Image: BBC screengrab)
A grieving mum has claimed her concerns were “shut down” as she opened up about the loss of her baby on BBC Breakfast.
Robyn Davis – whose son Orlando died at 14 days old – appeared on the BBC show on Thursday (February 26), where she said that she was made to feel “like I was going insane and that my concerns weren’t valid or real”.
She spoke out during a report about maternity service failings, with host Charlie Stayt explaining: “Maternity services in England are failing too many families with problems at every stage of maternity journey. It’s the interim conclusion of the national review being led by Baroness Amos.”
His fellow presenter Naga Munchetty continued: “It has identified six factors that impact care, including racism, staffing and culture. The health secretary Wes Streeting, who commissioned the review, has promised to act on Baroness Amos’ final recommendations which are due in April.”
The programme then cut to a report from reporter Michael Buchanan, who said: “When an inquiry in 2015 found that 11 babies and one mother had died avoidably at Furness General Hospital due to poor maternity care, the NHS promised the mistakes would never happen again. Over a decade later, more than 10,000 babies are estimated to have died in England due to maternity errors.”
He went on: “Orlando Davis died in 2021 at 14 days old. Maternity staff failed to recognise his mother had become ill in labour and Orlando was born in a poor condition.
“An inquest found his death had been contributed to by neglect.”
Orlando’s mum Robyn said: “They actually made me feel like I was going insane and that my concerns weren’t valid or real because every time I raised them, they were met with a quick shut down. And because of this, I genuinely believe that that’s why our son is not here.”
The baby’s father Jonathan Davis said: “The number of individuals that were involved in this situation, this wasn’t one or two, this was multiple midwives, multiple consultants and registrars across a prolonged area of time from in the community to in hospital. This was not a one event caused an outcome.”
The report said the family’s experience is supported by Baroness Amos, “who says problems occur at every stage of the maternity journey”.
It went on: “The issues, she says, are caused by cultural leadership of maternity units with midwives and obstetricians sometimes not cooperating, workforce with units not being fully or properly staffed, racism and discrimination, including against poor women, a lack of accountability when things go wrong and outdated and dilapidated buildings.”
The report said that the health secretary “has promised to ensure the review’s final recommendations due in April are enacted”.
“But a maternity safety task force that Wes Streeting also promised to establish by now hasn’t yet been created,” it said. “He says it will be shortly.”
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BBC Breakfast airs on BBC One from 6am.