The Families

lf you would like to share your stories with us then please do so by emailing darensamat@vasapraevia.co.uk.

Your contribution will be much appreciated and added to our blog. Please note: Stories that are shown as follows ^i^, sadly involve the death of a child.


Babies Julia and Catherine

Julia and Catherine ^i^ - twin daughters of Angela and Phil Millard

I had finally persuaded my husband Phil to try for another baby I already have two boys from a previous marriage. We had not long returned from holiday when I discovered I was pregnant, I was overjoyed, Phil was nervous. At my routine checkup and scan, at 16 weeks, it was discovered I was expecting twins! Phil left the hospital in shock I was doubly excited.

I had a very healthy pregnancy throughout. I was admitted into hospital three times with pain and slight bleeding but each time I was let out saying everything was fine. I was finally admitted at 37 weeks and 6 days to be induced as I had protein in my water and raised blood pressure. I was given an internal gel to soften my cervix, but I was told that my cervix was too far back and not easily obtainable. After two days of gel they decided they could break my waters.

We were taken to the delivery room where a doctor tried unsuccessfully to break my waters. I was in pain and she finally gave up saying that she thought she could feel the placenta.

After a couple of hours waiting and wondering what was going to happen next a consultant arrived to examine me. Whilst he examined me internally he decided to rupture my membranes and attached a scalp monitor to Catherine's head then he left.

I was then hooked up to a drip, to speed my contractions up, and had an epidural sited. I had to lie on my side for the epidural, which caused me tremendous pain. No one was unduly worried so everything carried on. Once the epidural was in place they could not locate Catherine's heart trace.

The consultant came back but left after signing the trace and telling us we had nothing to worry about. They still could not find a heart trace and by this time we were all panicking. They kept changing leads around and going off to see if they could find new ones. All this time I was bleeding bright red blood.

Eventually the nurse got an ultrasound machine and a doctor scanned me, he informed us that both our babies had stopped breathing. I told him to get them out quick but he said no they are both dead. The consultant returned to say sorry and for me to give birth normally. All through the next five hours I hoped that they were somehow wrong and Catherine and Julia would somehow be born fine. But it was not to be, they were born beautiful and perfect and warm but dead. Oh what a waste.

Whilst we were waiting for the girls to be born the doctor told us what he thought had happened, that when my waters had been ruptured a blood vessel had been torn. A velamentous insertion of the umbilical cord and vasa praevia. We could see from the placenta that was exactly what had happened.

I was eventually left alone with my babies and apart from a few tears I felt very numb. The next day we went into a special room for people like us, we kept the girls with us until family arrived then decided to let them go.

I left hospital that day desperate to be with my boys but unprepared for the explanation I had to give them. It was so hard to leave the girls behind, I so wanted to take them with me but couldn't. Life all too soon had to get back to normal, take the boys to school etc.

We have since discovered that when the consultant signed the trace Catherine was already dead and Julia was in distress. We hold that man wholly responsible for their death and believe that had he acted in a proper and responsible way our daughters would be with us now. We have been through solicitors but have not got anywhere and now have a meeting with the hospital. We are awaiting an independent review of our case.

We have since had a lovely daughter Alice and more recently, another daughter Annie. Love Angela