Couple take legal action after daughter dies hours after birth
Liliwen Iris Thomas died in October 2022 just 20 hours after she was born at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff due to complications during labour.
Her parents, Emily Brazier and Rhodri Thomas, have launched a civil action against Cardiff and Vale University Health Board.
The couple, from Cardiff, who are also parents to daughter Carys and son Ellis, have spoken of the devastation at the loss of Liliwen.
They said Ms Brazier's pregnancy had been classed as high-risk and had been monitored accordingly during the antenatal period.
But when she went into labour she was left alone to give birth, they claim.
'I have very hazy memories of my labour but then I vividly remember peeling back the covers and seeing Liliwen there, completely still and lifeless,' she said.
'That image will be with me forever. I still have flashbacks and nightmares and have been in counselling since it happened.'
Mr Thomas said he was not present when Ms Brazier went into labour due to the maternity unit not allowing partners on the ward overnight, unless their partner was in active labour, which at the point of him leaving she was not.
'I should have been there, I could have been Emily's advocate,' he said.
'I would have pressed the call bell and alerted midwives that she was clearly in active labour and needed extra monitoring and help.'
Shortly before midnight on October 9, Ms Brazier said she was given pain relief and left with gas and air before stirring from her drowsiness after 2am to discover her daughter had been born.
'It was absolute panic from that point, they took Liliwen away and rushed me up to the delivery suite, I had lost a lot of blood and needed stitches, IV fluids and a blood transfusion,' she said.
'All this happened while I was still on the induction ward, with only curtains around my bed separating me from four other women. It must have been horrendous for them too.'
Liliwen was treated in the neonatal intensive care unit but died later that day.
Since her death Ms Brazier, who at the time was studying to be a nurse, has opted against a career in the profession and has been diagnosed with PTSD.
'So many happy memories and special family moments are tinged with sadness,' she said.
'I dread family events and Christmas as Liliwen will never be there, she will always be the missing piece.
'I look at the faces of my living children and long to know what Liliwen would look like now at two-and-a-half years old. I will never get over her death, I feel stuck in time.
'I will never be the same person again. Holding your child as they take their last breath, leaving them behind after their last ever cuddle, walking out of the hospital with an empty car seat, there are so many painful memories seared into my brain.
'I have lost my child; it's every parent's worst nightmare and we live the nightmare every single day.'
The couple are being supported in their case by lawyers Slater and Gordon.
Lara Bennett, a senior associate at the firm, said: 'We are supporting Emily and Rhodri in every way we can to secure justice for their daughter after the most unimaginable and traumatic ordeal.'
A spokeswoman for the Cardiff and Vale University Health Board said: 'Our sincere thoughts and heartfelt condolences remain with Liliwen's family during this incredibly difficult time.
'The health board is fully engaged with the inquest process and it would be inappropriate to comment further until the inquest concludes.'
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