Our newborn baby died four years ago and we still don't know why

Our newborn baby died four years ago and we still don't know why

5 hours ago

Kayley Thomas, News Impact and

Simon Spark, East Yorkshire & Lincolnshire

Kianty and Conor Simpson

This was the first time Jacob's parents were able to hold him at Singleton Hospital in Swansea

Warning: This story contains details that some readers may find upsetting

Parents of a four-day-old baby who died following multiple failings during his birth four years ago say they are no closer to understanding what happened.

Kianty and Conor Simpson, from Lincolnshire, have yet to scatter son Jacob's ashes as no inquest has been held into his death and they still do not have a death certificate for him.

Jacob suffered a lack of oxygen to his brain during his birth at Glangwili Hospital, Carmarthen, in June 2022 before his life support machine was turned off days later.

The coroner for Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire has apologised to the family for the delay and said their son's case was now a "priority".

"No-one can explain what the feeling is like of having to take a baby seat out of your car or to take the 'baby on board' sign off the back before driving home," said Conor.

"The whole experience was extremely traumatic."

The couple were living in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, when Conor was posted to west Wales with the Army and Kianty fell pregnant.

At the time, she set up a hidden camera and filmed herself handing him a box over dinner, telling him it was an early birthday present. Inside, there was a note telling Conor he would make a "great father" along with baby clothes and Kianty's positive pregnancy tests.

"I'd had a really bad day at work... and all of a sudden, all those worries just vanished. The only thing I was focused on was just being a dad," said Conor.

Kianty and Conor Simpson

The couple found out they were having a boy and held a baby shower with friends and family

On 15 June 2022, Kianty was taken to Glangwili Hospital to be induced but her labour started spontaneously.

After initially progressing well, by the following afternoon labour had slowed.

"For a first-time mum, I had no idea what it was meant to feel like and how long it was meant to take," she recalled.

It was only when Jacob was finally born that Conor instantly recognised something was wrong as his son was "pale, bluish".

"I just had an overwhelming sense of just panic because he looked dead and that was difficult," recalled Conor.

"It's meant to be a happy moment. We were just watching him get resuscitated for 22 minutes and that was just awful."

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, a list of organisations that can provide help and support is available via the BBC Action Line .

Kianty and Conor Simpson

Kianty seeing her son for the first time after giving birth in the Special Care Baby Unit at Glangwili hospital

The couple were told that Jacob was gravely ill, had suffered a catastrophic lack of oxygen to his brain and although he had been resuscitated, he might not survive.

If he did, he might be severely disabled.

He was transferred to Singleton Hospital in Swansea where he was given cooling treatment to reduce the swelling on his brain, but four days later, Jacob died.

"The staff were incredible," Kianty said. "They helped us make some little foot mouldings and we had the opportunity to hold him at the end."

Conor has suffered prolonged effects from the aftermath of Jacob's birth.

"Kianty is such a lovely person," he said. "I'm just thinking why does it have to happen to her."

He said stepping outside the hospital to call family and let them know Jacob had died was the most difficult phone call he has ever had to make.

Kianty and Conor hadn't long been married when Kianty found out she was pregnant with Jacob

The couple say they are struggling to move forward with their lives because after they instructed solicitors to help with their case, Hywel Dda University Health Board stopped its own investigation under the NHS Putting Things Right process in June 2024.

Before it was halted, the probe had identified a number of failings during Kianty's labour which were shared with the family, including poor communication, failure to inform the Simpsons of concerns, inadequate fetal monitoring and failure to escalate care.

The family say the investigation did not include independent neonatology expert evidence to indicate more precisely what might have caused Jacob's death and were told they would need to await his inquest.

Hywel Dda University Health Board said it could not comment on individual cases.

Sharon Daniel, executive director of nursing, quality, and patient experience, said she extended her "deepest sympathies" to the family.

"In the event of a serious incident we have robust processes in place for reviewing the incident internally, identifying any issues and, where appropriate, preparing an improvement plan to prevent such an occurrence in the future," she said.

"We regret a…