Prisoner gave birth to stillborn baby in loo after nurse mistook labour for period pain

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A woman gave birth to a stillborn baby in horrifying circumstances in a prison toilet after a nurse mistook her labour for period pain, an investigation has uncovered Prisons and probation ombudsman Sue McAllister said staff made a "serious error of judgement" when they chose not to visit an inmate or properly assess her after she started bleeding and reported being in severe pain, wrongfully concluding she was simply having a painful period.

The mother, Louise Powell, said she "cannot forgive" the prison for what happened, as reported by Lancs Live. Louise, aged 30, did not know she was pregnant and did not believe she could be, according to a report published on January 11.

Fellow prisoners and staff at HMP Styal, Cheshire, had "no suspicion" this was the case until the baby girl was born prematurely, at between 27 and 31 weeks, in June 2020 in the toilet of her mum's cell block in the jail.

The findings come just months after a damning report revealed how a newborn baby died after a teenage girl gave birth alone in a cell in Europe’s largest women’s prison, HMP Bronzfield in Middlesex, despite calling staff for help.In this report, Ms McAllister said the mother suffered a “terrifying, painful and traumatic experience” and described the case as “deeply sad and distressing”.Prison staff called the duty nurse three times to raise concerns about the prisoner over two hours but, without visiting her or properly assessing her, “concluded incorrectly that she was bleeding and suffering severe stomach pain as a result of a painful period”.The report added: “Regardless of the cause, it is not acceptable that anyone should be in unexplained acute pain for several hours without proper assessment or consideration of pain