Legal action as baby starved of oxygen at birth dies aged four

A grieving mother is taking legal action against a hospital after her baby was starved of oxygen at birth.

Millie Lyman developed cerebral palsy and other problems after the oxygen supply to her brain was interrupted when she was born.

She died aged four after suffering a cardiac arrest caused by a severe infection, an inquest heard.

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Her mother Emma Lee, 26, who was praised by both a coroner and a consultant for her care of Millie, has put the matter into the hands of a solicitor.

Ms Lee, a teaching assistant from Cudworth, Barnsley, said after the hearing: “I’ve consulted a solicitor about taking civil action against the hospital. Her care after her birth was brilliant but at birth Millie was starved of oxygen and was distressed.

“We’re looking into what caused the oxygen starvation as all Millie’s health problems seemed to stem from there.”

Millie was born at Barnsley Hospital in 2006 by caesarean. On scores given to newborn babies for heart rate, breathing effort, muscle tone and skin colour, Millie scored only five out of ten just 60 seconds after being born. This increased to eight after ten minutes.

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Millie was later found to have cerebral palsy which she said “might have been caused by a hypoxic brain injury”.

Dr Diarmuid Kerrin, a consultant paediatrician at the hospital, said Millie was described as “a bit flat and unresponsive” but she began normal breathing after stimulation.

Midwives noted the baby was “pale and floppy” and she was put on a ventilator.

Millie was later diagnosed with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, which is caused by a lack of oxygen and results in impaired brain function. She had problems with communication, learning and movement.

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Last May, she was admitted to the emergency department at Barnsley Hospital with breathing difficulties. Tests showed she had a bacterial infection but her condition worsened and she was transferred to Sheffield Children’s Hospital, where she died.

Assistant deputy coroner Julian Fox delivered a narrative verdict.