In September 2023 Alice and Pedro’s daughter Smokey died a preventable death in labour at 41 weeks. Alice shares how she was left begging for help in the last week of Smokey’s life and experienced a catalogue of failures in basic care. Alice reflects how the NHS should be a place where no baby dies preventably, and shares how she and Pedro will keep fighting until that becomes a reality because as part of Smokey’s legacy, they want to make sure no other baby dies a preventable death. 

Please be aware that Alice has chosen to share pictures of her daughter Smokey with her story. 

“My daughter Smokey died a preventable death in labour at 41 weeks pregnant in September 2023. Signs that my placenta was not working as well were not investigated or acted upon, despite it being known that I was higher risk of growth restriction since 20 weeks. 

The circumstances of Smokey's death are immensely traumatic and involved a catalogue of failures in basic care. I was left begging for help in the last week of her life. I was not listened to. The hospital trust did not follow national guidelines in growth monitoring or induction timing, despite me being higher risk. Research shows that growth restriction is the biggest preventable cause of stillbirth. 

I had an external Maternity and Newborn Safety Investigations (MNSI) investigation which made five safety recommendations to the hospital trust that were considered to be contributory to Smokey’s death. 

Despite these reported failures in an independent report, the trust's internal investigation (PMRT) found no relevant issues in my care. My daughter's death therefore is not recorded as preventable in the official statistics. It worries me that other families are not getting the answers they deserve if they are only eligible for an internal investigation. 

Without honesty and transparency, I believe trusts cannot sufficiently learn from deaths. It should never be families left investigating their own child's death. The NHS should be a place where no baby dies preventably and myself and my partner Pedro will keep fighting until that becomes a reality. 

Across the system, we have witnessed a normalisation of preventable deaths and severe harms. This cannot continue. Everybody deserves a decent basic level of care. Every baby deserves a chance to live. It cannot continue to be a lottery of care whether you come out of hospital with your baby alive or with a box. There needs to be a mandated basic standard of care in every hospital. 

Myself and Pedro are forced to be our daughter's voice as hers was stolen from her. We want to make sure no other baby dies a preventable death as part of her legacy."