Baby death Leicester hospital admits error
A hospital has admitted a woman whose baby died after being born in a waiting room should have been seen sooner.
Sara Proud, 36, went to Leicester Royal Infirmary late on Sunday after going into labour but was told to wait for a midwife to become available.
But the baby was born with the umbilical cord around its neck and despite treatment was declared dead.
The hospital expressed its regret but said a post mortem examination was needed to see why the baby died.
Ms Proud, a mother of six from Beaumont Leys, was told the maternity wing was busy but decided to go in as she had a history of quick births.
While in a waiting room with other couples, she began to give birth. Her partner, Steven Yorke, ran to get help.
He said: "Sarah was screaming 'The baby's coming! The baby's coming! The baby's here!'
"She is bent over a chair with five strange people in the room that didn't know us and we didn't know them and the midwives were trying to rush them out.
"There was blood and everything going everywhere because there's no bed, nothing."
'Sorry and sad'
Jane Porter, the head of midwifery for Leicester's Hospitals, issued a statement saying: "We are sorry and sad about the death of Ms Proud's son.
"One of our senior community midwives has been to see the family and we are sitting down with them again today.
"It's clear that we should have seen Sarah sooner, what's not clear is whether her baby died during or some time before the birth and only the post mortem will be able to answer that."
Results of the post mortem tests could take up to six weeks.