Rotherham mum's life-support anguish

A GRIEVING mum has spoken of her anguish at making the heartbreaking decision to turn off her baby daughter’s ventilator just a week after she was born.Natasha Houghton (21), gave birth to Grace Louise Houghton at Rotherham General Hospital on Septem

A GRIEVING mum has spoken of her anguish at making the heartbreaking decision to turn off her baby daughter’s ventilator just a week after she was born.

Natasha Houghton (21), gave birth to Grace Louise Houghton at Rotherham General Hospital on September 30.

She had been admitted the previous day with suspected appendicitis which was ruled out following tests but doctors decided to carry out a caesarian.

Grace appeared to be healthy, weighing just over 6lb 8oz, and stayed in hospital with Natasha who was being kept in for observation as she had developed an infection.

But within seven days of her birth she went from being healthy to needing a ventilator to breathe.

After taking the heartbreaking decision to have the life-support machine switched off Natasha said: “I knew that if she woke up that she would be brain dead and I could not put my baby through that.

“It still hasn’t hit me. Everything leading up to birth was perfectly fine.

"We feel anger, grief and shock all at the same time and still can't understand how it happened."

Five days after her birth, in the early hours of October 6, Natasha asked for help from a midwife because Grace had slept constantly for eight hours, her temperature was rising and her heart was beating quickly.

Grace was taken the following afternoon for a blood test and allowed to return to her mum's bedside.

Natasha became increasingly concerned about her daughter’s heart rate and in the early hours of October 7 doctors took Grace back to the special baby care unit where she was kept under observation.

Later that day, during a lumber puncture test, Grace began to deteriorate rapidly and was placed in an incubator.

“They tried to stabilise her,” Natasha recalled, “but her kidneys and liver began to fail and she was giving up.

Doctors wanted to move her to Leeds to get specialist treatment but she never stabilised.

“I’m a student nurse and I went into nurse mode. I sat stroking her hair and held her until they turned off the ventilator.”

Grace died at around 8.30pm on October 7 leaving her family shocked and devastated.

Natasha, who has two other children, said: “Tests that were carried out after Grace's death have shown that her white blood cell count was ten times what it should have been.

“But we don’t have any answers. We’ll have to wait eight weeks until the pathologist gives a report.”

A funeral for Grace was held on Wednesday at Dalton Parva Church where she was interred alongside another family member.

Natasha added: “With her having such a short little life I want to do the best I can for her, so we are trying to save up for a special headstone.

“All I want is justice for her.”

A spokeswoman for Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust said: “We offer our deepest sympathies to Natasha Houghton for the loss of baby Grace and our thoughts are with her at this sad time.  

“As part of our usual processes we are carrying out a full and comprehensive internal investigation into the circumstances and we are unable to comment further until our enquiry is concluded.”

An inquest into Grace's death was opened and adjourned at Doncaster Coroner’s Court last Thursday.

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