Cascade
A woman gave birth to her baby – less than an HOUR after being discharged from hospital.
Alison Davis, 33, was 22 and a half weeks pregnant when she was told by doctors to go home and 'rest up' after she went to Southend Hospital with severe pain and bleeding.
But shortly after arriving at her parents' home in Eastwood, Essex, she had crippling stomach pains. She gave birth soon afterwards to a premature baby girl, Bethany.
Alison told Parentdish: "I was let go, incorrectly, then went on to deliver my daughter at my parents' home.
"My parents called an ambulance and the paramedic pronounced her stillborn, but upon arrival at the hospital they found a heart beat and the mood suddenly changed.
"We never expected Bethany to survive when she was so premature and would not have wanted her to have been given medical treatment. But it was the lack of dignity and respect afforded to us all that was so upsetting."
Alison, who lives with her husband Glen and their 14-year-old daughter Georgina, said: "We feel completely let down by the staff at the hospital because we put our trust in them.
They are meant to keep women in for 24 hours if they are in pain and bleeding. We had been trying for a baby for five years so she was our little miracle. It has been an absolutely awful time for us all.
The tragedy happened in December 2009 but the family have had to wait for an inquest because of delays in the coroner's service.
Jacqueline Totterdell, chief executive of Southend Hospital, said the hospital could not give a full comment on Alison's case until the conclusion of the inquest.
She added: "We understand the devastation Mr and Mrs Davis have suffered due to the death of their daughter, Bethany, and will continue to support them in what has been an extremely difficult time."
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