NHS trust to probe baby test drug fears

Naila Zubair, 33, was 10 weeks pregnant when doctors told her she was losing her baby.

A devastated Mrs Zubair asked for an ultrasound scan to confirm the diagnosis but was told this was unavailable.

Instead, she was told to take drugs with the warning that, if she did not, she may struggle to conceive in the future.

But when a scan was carried out the next day to see if her womb was clear, doctors discovered Mrs Zubair, of Girlington, Bradford, was still pregnant.

The mother-to-be, who is now 16 weeks pregnant, and husband Zubair Ahmed, 32, have since received a report which details the possible effects of the drug, including limb and cranial birth defects.

Mrs Zubair, who is submitting a formal complaint to Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “These tablets could have killed my baby and I wouldn’t have known.

“It’s all very emotional and it’s not acceptable. The doctors were in such a rush they made a misdiagnosis. I keep thinking ‘Why did I let them do it?’ It is difficult for me to bond with this baby because I feel like I might lose it.”

The couple, who are parents to a six-year-old boy, requested an early dating scan at Bradford Royal Infirmary after Mrs Zubair suffered bleeding. The scan was carried out on August 26.

It revealed a live baby but the mother’s bleeding intensified and doctors told her the prognosis. She was transferred by ambulance to the early pregnancy assessment unit where she was examined again and told it was not policy to offer another scan.

A trust spokesman said: “We sympathise with Mrs Zubair for the distress she has experienced. We have met her to talk through her concerns and will be undertaking further investigations.”