A mother whose baby died after she was discharged from hospital with pre-eclampsia was sent home again and told to telephone to book a slot to give birth. Danielle Brown, 31, from North Tyneside, is calling for changes to how hospitals support bereaved families.

Her daughter Maisie was stillborn in February 2023, seven months into the pregnancy. Newcastle Hospitals NHS Trust has apologised for failings in care. The family’s legal representative says Maisie would have been born alive had Danielle remained in hospital.

Danielle first attended Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital in Cramlington after waking with swelling in her face, hands and feet: potential signs of pre-eclampsia, which can threaten the lives of mother and baby.

Staff identified problems with Maisie’s heart rate and told Danielle she needed an immediate emergency caesarean. She was transferred by ambulance to Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary, but the operation did not happen.

Danielle said a consultant told her she would remain in hospital until Maisie was born. Another doctor discharged her the following day.

Within 24 hours, she felt unwell again. She said maternity staff suggested she probably had a stomach bug, but she insisted on returning. Doctors could not find Maisie’s heartbeat.

Rather than remaining for delivery, Danielle was given a telephone number and told to ring on Friday morning to arrange to come in. Her partner, Anthony Miller, 34, described lying beside her at home, still able to feel Maisie but knowing she was no longer alive.

Two days later, Danielle gave birth after 10 hours in labour. “It was devastating that my first experience of holding a baby was holding my stillborn daughter,” she said.

Leaving hospital brought further distress as the couple passed parents carrying their babies. They want hospitals throughout the UK to provide alternative exit routes for bereaved families, alongside alternatives to sending mothers home after a baby’s death.

Legal executive Faisal Ali, of Irwin Mitchell, said the trust admitted Danielle should not have been discharged on either 14 or 15 February 2023. He said continued monitoring would have identified the need to expedite delivery and Maisie would have been born alive.

Ian Joy, the trust’s executive director of nursing and midwifery, offered a “heartfelt apology”. He said a detailed 2023 review led to improved urgent assessment and quicker escalation when concerns arose.

NHS England called the failings unacceptable and said anyone losing a baby should receive specialist maternity support to make choices about their care.