A newborn baby died after doctors dismissed her mother’s life-threatening internal bleeding as ‘trapped wind’.
Kimberley Newark, 32, went to Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath, Sussex, in excruciating pain on September 14, 2024, when she was 34 weeks pregnant.
Maternity staff put her symptoms down to trapped wind but Ms Newark was in fact bleeding internally, putting her and her baby daughter Olivia Trupiano at risk.
Hospital staff even told Ms Newark’s partner Yann Trupiano to go home and return the next day.
Shortly after Mr Trupiano left the hospital doctors discovered a major blood vessel near Kimberley’s stomach had ruptured causing massive internal bleeding and a life-threatening loss of an estimated 14 litres of blood.
Olivia was born via emergency C-section and had to be resuscitated as she was suffering from severe hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy – a condition that occurs when a baby’s brain does not receive enough oxygen or blood flow around the time of birth.
Ms Newark was placed in a coma and she and newborn Olivia were transferred to the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton.
Sadly, despite doctors best efforts, Olivia died just five days later on September 19.
Kimberley Newark, 32, pictured with her daughter Olivia who passed away after doctors dismissed the mother’s extreme pain from internal bleeding as ‘trapped wind’
Speaking about how the doctors responded to her, Ms Newark 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 trauma of losing Olivia has also hit the rest of the family hard, including her two older children, aged eight and 10.
Ms Newark, who has two other children, added: ‘This has absolutely devastated us.
‘Our older children have struggled to understand why Olivia is not here with us and they are so young to have to try and 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.
‘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 said they repeatedly raised concerns about Ms Newark’s deteriorating health but they felt ‘ignored and dismissed’.
Mr Trupiano 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.’
The University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust maternity services are under investigation following a review commissioned by Health Secretary Wes Streeting.
It comes after nine bereaved families raised concerns over the deaths of their babies between 2021 and 2023.
Ms Newark and Mr Trupiano said their grief was made ‘so much worse’ by learning other families had also experienced losing babies.
The devastated couple believed hospital staff missed vital warning signs and instructed lawyers Slater and Gordon to investigate Olivia’s care.
Ms Newark pictured with her husband Yann Trupiano and their daughter Olivia in the hospital
Clinical negligence solicitor Ayesha Hussain who is acting for 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 University Hospitals Sussex NHS Trust spokesperson said two reviews of Olivia’s care had been carried out.
Dr Maggie Davies, chief nurse at the trust, 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 been told the family had concerns about the timing of the diagnosis of the ruptured artery.
At a pre-inquest review the coroner, Joanne Andrews, said she had reasons to suspect Olivia’s death was ‘unnatural’ and would therefore hold an inquest.
An initial hearing took place at a coroner’s court in Brighton in July last year.
