Kimberley Newark’s baby daughter Olivia died at just six days old (Image: Slater and Gordon/SWNS)
A heartbroken mother’s newborn baby died after medical staff mistook her internal bleeding for « trapped wind ». Kimberley Newark presented at hospital in severe pain whilst 34 weeks pregnant.
She said maternity staff attributed her symptoms to trapped wind after she attended Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath, Sussex, on September 14, 2024. Kimberley, 32, was actually haemorrhaging internally, placing both her and her baby daughter Olivia Trupiano in grave danger.
Hospital staff even instructed Kimberley’s partner Yann Trupiano to leave and come back the following day. Shortly after Yann departed the hospital doctors identified that a major blood vessel near Kimberley’s abdomen had burst.
It was causing catastrophic internal bleeding and a critical loss of approximately 14 litres of blood. Olivia was delivered by emergency caesarean section, but was suffering from severe hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy.
The condition develops when a baby’s brain is deprived of sufficient oxygen or blood flow around the time of delivery. Kimberley was put into an induced coma and both Olivia and her mother were moved to the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton. Despite doctors’ best efforts, Olivia passed away just five days later on September 19.
Kimberley Newark in hospital with Olivia (Image: Slater and Gordon/SWNS)
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Kimberley said: « I went to the hospital because I had fainted, was weak, dizzy and in excruciating pain – pain I knew was not normal. They told me I had trapped wind and administered Buscopan alongside pain relief and IV fluids. My pain never subsided and it turned out I was bleeding internally. »
The heartbreak of losing Olivia has deeply affected the entire family.
Kimberley, a mother of two other children, continued: « This has absolutely devastated us. Our older children – now aged eight and ten – have struggled to understand why Olivia is not here with us and they are so young to have to try to process something like this.
« It has also had a huge impact on our relationship as we attempt to grieve for our daughter. It has been devastating in so many ways.
Olivia in hospital (Image: Slater and Gordon/SWNS)
« We want a clear explanation of why this occurred and why our concerns were not acknowledged. We, along with the other families in the same position, need transparency and answers. »
The couple expressed that they repeatedly voiced worries about Kimberley’s declining health, but they felt « ignored and dismissed ».
Yann said: « Our daughter died and Kimberley nearly died too – I put my trust in the medical staff. I was told to go home overnight and come back in the morning and believed that Kimberley was in safe hands. Shortly after I left, I was called to say she was having an emergency Caesarean and she was in a critical condition. »
Olivia required resuscitation at birth and was diagnosed with severe hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy. The maternity services of the University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust are currently under scrutiny following a review commissioned by Health Secretary Wes Streeting.
This follows concerns raised by nine grieving families regarding the deaths of their infants between 2021 and 2023. Kimberley and Yann expressed that their sorrow was « so much worse » upon discovering that other families had also endured the loss of babies.
The heartbroken couple believe hospital staff overlooked crucial warning signs and have engaged lawyers Slater and Gordon to probe into Olivia’s care.
Ayesha Hussain, a clinical negligence solicitor representing the family, said: « The loss of Olivia has been absolutely heartbreaking for Kimberley and Yann and they have so many unanswered questions over what went so wrong in the care they received. The fact that Olivia is one of several babies who died within University Hospitals Sussex’s maternity services, whose deaths are subject to many questions, is deeply concerning and these families deserve full support and transparency from the NHS Trust. We will be beside Kimberley and Yann every step of the way in finding the answers they need and deserve. »
A spokesperson for the University Hospitals Sussex NHS Trust confirmed that two reviews of Olivia’s care had been conducted.
Olivia in hospital (Image: Slater and Gordon/SWNS)
Dr Maggie Davies, the trust’s chief nurse, told the BBC: « We are desperately sorry for the loss of Olivia, and the trauma and grief we know this has caused everyone in the family. But we absolutely understand that nothing we can say can change the intense sense of loss they feel. »
A coroner’s court has previously heard that the family had reservations about the timing of the diagnosis of the ruptured artery. During a pre-inquest review, the coroner, Joanne Andrews, stated she had reasons to suspect Olivia’s death was « unnatural » and would therefore conduct an inquest.
An initial hearing occurred at a coroner’s court in Brighton in July of the previous year.
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