‘I went into hospital for a Caesarean

A woman who went into hospital for a planned Caesarean section and ended up in a coma for four days has said she remains traumatised by her experience.

Amie suffered internal bleeding during the Caesarean section at Nottingham City Hospital on 26 August 2024.

But she said her deteriorating condition was not identified, and was only able to see her son Reggie for 10 minutes before going into a coma.

Her case is one of hundreds being examined as part of the largest maternity review in NHS history, and the trust at the centre of the inquiry – Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs City Hospital – has apologised to Amie over her care.

The 35-year-old, from Bestwood Park in Nottingham, was originally booked in for the procedure on 15 October 2024, but that was brought forward due to her increasing blood pressure, leading to Reggie being born two months early.

She said she was told the bleeding was caused by “blunt trauma” as the bladder was pushed from the womb.

Amie said she soon felt unwell after the Caesarean section, feeling faint with low blood pressure.

In a letter, which has been seen by the BBC, medics told her this was likely due to the fact she was losing blood into the abdomen, “and we acknowledged there was an opportunity for us to have potentially identified this sooner”.

It added had consultant obstetricians and anaesthetists been involved in her care earlier, her internal bleeding may have been recognised sooner.

Eventually Amie became unresponsive after 08:00 BST the following morning and was taken into emergency surgery, in which she lost more than three litres of blood.

“All I remember is going back up on to the labour suite and my sister coming with my two other children,” she said.

“I remember eating some pizza and then I don’t remember anything after that until I came out of the coma.”

Reflecting on her experience, Amie said: “It is traumatic.

“Some days I’m sat there crying, especially when I think about it, because I just think who would have looked after my kids if something had happened to me?”

She said Reggie was born with a number of health complications, including oesophageal atresia and skeletal dysplasia, meaning he will have to have both legs amputated.

Amie said: “When he had loads of scans, they said one leg was bigger than the other.

“He had to have a six-hour operation on his oesophagus because his breathing tube was connected to his feeding tube.

“He has a hernia on his hip the size of a tennis ball, a hole in his heart, no kneecaps, no tibia bone in both of his legs, club foot and a cyst on the bottom of his spine.”

She added, though, “you’d never believe” Reggie had so many health issues.

“He is such a happy baby,” Amie added.

Amie’s case is one of about 2,500 being examined as part of the independent maternity review into Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) NHS Trust.

The review, being led by senior midwife Donna Ockenden, has been prompted by dozens of baby injuries and deaths at the trust.

It has closed to new cases, and Ms Ockenden is on track to publish a report on her findings in June 2026.

Amie said she had been told her case was one of the ones being explored, but added she had not heard anything since.

Of the trust, she added: “I just don’t trust them any more.”

In a statement, Tracy Pilcher, chief nurse at the trust, said: “We recognise the impact that this has had on Amie and her family, and accept that earlier review of her care could have resulted in complications being identified sooner. For that we are truly sorry.

“A full review of Amie’s care has already taken place, and we recognise the importance of her experience also being part of the Independent Maternity Review (IMR) led by Donna Ockenden.

“Learnings from our review and feedback from the IMR are crucial in helping us to improve our services, and we are thankful for those, like Amie, who have shared their experiences with us.”