I didn’t realise I was pregnant but gave birth in prison – tragically my baby died after my agonising cries were ignored

CLUTCHING her stomach in agony, Louise Powell yelled 'I think I’m dying' and begged prison staff to help her.

In fact the 31-year-old, an inmate at Styal prison in Cheshire, was in labour - and tragically lost baby girl Brooke who was born prematurely, weighing just 2.5lbs, in June 2020.

Now Louise, who didn’t know she was pregnant at the time and didn’t recall having penetrative sex, claims she was not seen by medical staff for two hours after she began complaining of pain, and believes her baby could have been saved by earlier intervention.

Speaking on tonight’s Newsnight, she tells Katie Razzall: “Brooke could have been here. Her skin was perfect. She was a perfect baby. She died due to error.

“Clearly they can’t look after people. They don’t take people’s feelings into consideration. You’re a number, not a person.

“She should be here with me. It’s hard to look back and know she’s not with me, and that’s been taken away from me, through no choice of my own. I just never got listened to.”

Louise was sentenced to eight months, in March 2020, for common assault, criminal damage and using threatening words or behaviour.

On arrival at Styal jail, she was asked if she was pregnant and told staff she was not.

Louise believed there was no chance she could be pregnant because she is gay, and had no recollection of any consensual penetrative sex in the months before she was sentenced.

The police later opened an investigation into a suspected assault, but Louise decided not to press charges.

She claims prison staff never asked again about pregnancy, although her solicitor says prison personnel were aware Louise had not had a period for four to five months.

Begged for ambulance and said 'I'd dying'

On 18th June 2020 at around 5pm, Louise began complaining of a lot of pain. By 6pm, it was becoming extreme, and an hour later her cellmate informed prison officers that Louise was bleeding, with severe cramps.

An officer came to see her and remarked that Louise looked six months pregnant, Louise recalls.

The officer contacted the onsite medical team on two occasions in the next hour raising concerns about possible pregnancy but it’s believed no healthcare professional came to see her.

By 8pm, Louise was suffering such severe pain she begged for an ambulance.

Louise said: “I was in agony, I was crying, I was bent over. To me, I was dying.

“I said to [the prison officer], I need an ambulance. She told me to go back upstairs and lie down on the bed, I’ll call over to the healthcare team again. I couldn’t make it to my bed.

“I got to the stairs, collapsed in pain. I got to the top of the stairs, collapsed again. Obviously these were contractions, coming on quicker.”

I was in agony, I was crying, I was bent over.

Louise Powell

The officer radioed healthcare a third time but no medical professional arrived.

Louise says a prison officer doing routine checks arrived and saw her condition, but continued her round saying she would come back later

Just after 9pm – more than two hours after it’s claimed staff were alerted – Louise's cellmate pressed the emergency bell in their cell.

Louise says a nurse finally arrived: “When the baby was already out, half out".

"She got me on the floor to try and get the rest of the baby out," she says.

“I needed to stand up because the baby was still stuck by her head, she was breech.”

Louise recalls that when her baby was born, she was taken away by medical staff, and she was told she had a baby girl.

It was not until later, when she arrived at the hospital, that she was told her baby had not survived.

Louise told Newsnight: “I don’t blame anyone for not knowing I was pregnant, because I didn’t at the time. But the fact that nobody came over to look at me, the fact that nobody took me over to see any healthcare… acute abdominal pain could have been anything.

“To me, I remember saying to them I think I’m dying. I feel like I’m dying. I need an ambulance. So I feel like a lot more could have been done.”

Newsnight believes that when staff eventually tried to call an ambulance, the prison radio system failed, leading to a further delay.

Tragedy 'should not have happened'

Louise claims nobody at Styal prison performed CPR or tried to revive the baby: “As soon as the ambulance got there, they took the baby off the prison staff, the ambulance staff asked, 'has anyone tried CPR?'

“They were just shocked – no. The ambulance tried CPR, obviously it was too late then.”

Louise’s solicitor, Jane Ryan, said: “This was a tragedy that should not have happened. What we know is that baby Brooke was premature, but she was healthy, and the evidence shows that had Louise been properly assessed, had she been taken to hospital, then Brooke could have survived – she may have survived.

“That’s huge and devastating for Louise to hear that. And it’s also a matter of public concern that, yet again, this has happened.”

A Prison Service spokesperson said: "This was a deeply sad and distressing case and our thoughts remain with everyone affected.

“While our view remains that custody should be the last resort for most women, we have made significant improvements to support female offenders and our new prison places will give them greater access to education, healthcare and employment – helping them to turn their backs on crime.

“We await the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman’s report and will respond accordingly to improve the care for pregnant women and mothers in prison.”

A spokesperson from Spectrum Community Health CIC said: “We extend our deepest condolences to Ms. Powell for the distress and sad loss that she has experienced.

"Spectrum Community Health CIC has fully co-operated with the independent investigation into this case which was carried out by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman.

“As the investigation report by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman has yet to be published, we are unable to provide any further comment.”

Watch the full interview on Newsnight, tonight, 22.30, BBC Two or later on BBC iPlayer.