Grieving Kirkby parents speak of 'heartbreaking' loss of baby son ahead of inquest

Amelia Bradley attended Kings Mill Hospital in Sutton on September 13 last year, after her contractions started.

She waited for over an hour to be seen, before being administered pain relief and underwent a sweep, before being discharged from hospital to continue with a home birth as planned.

In the early hours of the next morning, Amelia, aged 26, began passing blood and experiencing unbearable pain.

She returned to hospital again with her partner Luke, aged 26, and her mum Tammy, aged 46, around 1am on September 14.

After waiting around 40 minutes to be assessed, their first child, Theo Bradley, was born by emergency Caesarean section around one hour later.

He had been starved of oxygen and suffered a brain injury.

Theo was transferred to a specialist neo-natal intensive care unit at another hospital for treatment but died the following day.

Following their son’s death, Amelia and Luke, from Kirkby, instructed expert medical negligence lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to investigate and secure answers at an inquest.

Laura Robinson, the lawyer representing Amelia and Luke, said: “Losing Theo so tragically and unexpectedly has devastated Amelia, Luke and the rest of their family.

“Understandably, Amelia and Luke continue to have a number of questions and concerns over what happened in the lead up to Theo’s death.

“While nothing can ever change what happened to bring Theo back, the inquest is a major milestone in being able to provide the family with the answers they deserve.

“If, during the course of the inquest, any issues are identified in the care provided to Theo or Amelia prior to his birth, it’s vital that lessons are learned.”

Following Theo’s delivery and subsequent hospital transfer, Amelia, an admin manager and Luke, who is self-employed, were told he was too poorly for further treatment.

He passed away in his parents’ arms on September 15.

Amelia said: “We were so excited to become parents and couldn’t wait to meet our little man.

"My pregnancy progressed uneventfully so I decided on a home birth so Theo could be born where he was going to grow up.

“However, that changed when I went into labour and Theo had to be born by C-section.

"We were so happy that he was finally here.

“The happiness was short-lived though when we were told of Theo’s condition.

He died the day after, just one-day-old, and in that time he had endured so much more than any baby should ever have to.

“Now, we must live every day without our son and the pain and grief we feel is just as raw as it was back then.

“Every day since losing Theo, we’ve wondered if more could have been done to save him.

"While the inquest and having to relive everything again is going to be tough, it’s something we need to do to honour our son.”

An inquest into Theo’s death will begin at The Council House in Nottingham tomorrow (Wednesday)and is scheduled to last three days.

When approached for comment by your Chad, Sherwood Forest Hospitals Trust, which runs King’s Mill Hospital, said it planned to comment after the inquest had finished.