A heartbroken couple have spoken of their devastation after their first baby together was stillborn. Kim Prosser, 28, and partner Simon Jenkins' daughter Paisley, the fifth sister to the their other daughters, was due on January 26, 2023 and other than Kim having a low-lying placenta, the pair described her pregnancy as "perfect".
The duo from from Caerphilly, Wales were told there was no reason the mother couldn't have a natural delivery. Wales Online reports that Kim was reassured, knowing she could have the delivery that she always wanted.
However, as her due date approached, the mum started to experience pains in her back and stomach. Midwives reassured Kim that this meant baby was coming.
However, the 28-year-old, who has two daughters already, felt something something wasn't right. She sought reassurance from the maternity services at Ysbyty Ystrad Fawr the day after her due date.
The mum was concerned that her waters might be leaking and that baby Paisley's movements had reduced.
While she was at the hospital, Kim was hooked up to a monitor to hear Paisley's heartbeat. The movements were then eventually picked up and she felt reassured that her baby was ok.
A swab also confirmed that Kim's waters were not leaking, so the couple were sent home. But Kim was still concerned. "You know, when you've just got an uneasy feeling?
"Like I can feel something is not quite right."
Kim says she was told that her baby's movements might have slowed down because she was due to give birth any day. However, she claims that she was also informed to let them know if there was a change.
Kim added: "So I was a bit like, they're telling me two different things."
The weekend passed fine but by Sunday Kim started to experience more pain, and by 5am on Monday morning, she knew the pains were contractions and that she was in labour. Her partner, Simon, says the pair initially joked that the child was coming.
He said: "We even joked, because Kim had so many pains and stuff, we joked is this actually it now? I feel guilty now, that I joked about it."
"At that point we were just oblivious, obviously," added Kim.
They went to the Grange Hospital and were seen at the triage ward, where their plans of bringing their baby daughter home were flipped upside down. Kim said: "It was like something was telling us that something wasn't quite right.
"I just had a weird feeling. The first machine (that monitors a baby's heartbeat and contractions) wasn't working, so they got another one.
"She was fiddling around trying to place it in different places of my stomach. And I had a sinking feeling because I was all bump, so as soon as you put that machine on my belly, you could hear Paisley's heartbeats.
"The midwife would have known what position she was in (Paisley) and nothing came back. She ran and got another machine and the same thing happened again.
"I just asked outright, 'Why can't you find my baby's heartbeat?'
"And she took us into another side room with an ultrasound machine and she started scanning me. And that is when she said to us that she couldn't find Paisley's heartbeat."
The midwife fetched a consultant who did the same checks. Simon added: "He said, pretty much straight away, that Paisley had no heartbeat.
"I could hear him saying about Paisley's spine and different things like that, the cord. He said, 'I can't tell you the reason why your daughter has passed away, I can't find the reason why this has happened to you'.
Kim added: "I think that was the worst feeling. They didn't know why.
"So then, over the next couple of days, I had to give birth to my daughter not knowing why she'd passed away and come to terms with it."
After finding out about Paisley's passing on Monday, Kim laboured for two days before giving birth to her daughter just after midnight on Wednesday morning. Kim said: "It was absolute torture knowing I had to give birth to Paisley, knowing the end results.
"Still having her in my belly, you're almost waiting for a little movement, a little kick, anything. When I started to go, when I was in full blown labour, I was kind of relieved it was happening.
"But at the same time, I just kept breaking down during my labour. Like when my water went I knew she was finally coming.
"She was absolutely perfect. I just feel so angry. I give birth to a perfect baby, she just has no heartbeat."
Simon added: "When she was born, I didn't want to turn my head, but I turned my head. I looked at her beautiful hair, it just felt surreal. I just wanted her to smile or cry."
The couple said the staff at the hospital were amazing with them as they came to terms with their loss. However, they do have questions and concerns over their care, and wonder if there was more that could have been done to make sure Paisley was ok when they went to the hospital just a few days before Kim went into labour.
On reflection, they believed they should have been given an ultrasound to check Kim's placenta due to her history of having a low lying placenta. The couple have requested a post mortem report and are awaiting the results.
A spokesperson for Aneurin Bevan University Health Board said: “The loss of a child during pregnancy or birth is devastating and painful. Our thoughts and sincere condolences for their loss are with Ms Prosser and her family, and we are very sorry that there are concerns with the care she received.
“In the tragic event of a perinatal death, we will provide support to the family and ensure that bereavement support is available. We will fully involve the family in a review of the care and treatment and share any findings in an open and transparent manner. Once again, we would like to express our sincere condolences to Ms Prosser and their family for their loss.”
The family have received support from a number of charities following Paisley's passing including Aching Arms, who gifted bears for their children. Simon has set up a fundraising page in order to purchase bears for other families in memory of his daughter.
He said: "To me, this is something to focus on. I want it out there, I want Paisley's name out there.
"I want to be open with other families going through what we are going through, I want to share my pain with them, I want to do everything I possibly can."
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