New mum says maternity treatment was 'traumatic'

A mum who says she has been left in chronic pain a year after giving birth has called for an NHS trust to be put into special measures.

Niki Cotson, 31, gave birth in April 2024 at the North Tees Hospital in Stockton before experiencing what she believes was poor care in the aftermath.

Miss Cotson, who has amassed more than 700 signatures to her petition calling for special measures to be imposed at North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust, said: "My labour and postnatal care were traumatic."

The hospital said it was always "dedicated to ensuring safe, quality care for all of our patients" and it continued to try to address any concerns raised.

In the latest inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in 2022, both the maternity ward and the hospital were given a "requires improvement" rating.

Miss Cotson said that despite not being in established labour, her waters were artificially ruptured for which she says she received no adequate explanation.

She said: "Following birth, I was promised a spinal block to manage my pain, but this was withdrawn without explanation.

"Instead, I was given dihydrocodeine while breastfeeding, without any warning of the risks.

"My baby became excessively drowsy, fed poorly and subsequently developed complications."

After they were discharged, the 31-year-old said she never received a postpartum check.

Now, just over a year on, Miss Cotson said she lived with chronic pain, prolapse, fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue.

She said her son continued to struggle with health issues, including digestive problems.

Other women have come forward to support her and shared their experiences at the Stockton maternity ward.

Nikki Stainsby, 35, from Hartlepool, reflected on her "horrific" experiences when she gave birth in October 2020.

She described being taken to a ward just an hour after giving birth and still bleeding, then being left in the same bloodstained sheets for 12 hours.

"It was only when I said I would get up and change them that they were finally changed and there was no offer to help with the pain," she said.

Miss Stainsby was given stitches immediately after birth but weeks later she kept tearing them.

She added: "I went back to the doctors, who sent me to a gynaecologist who told me that they were wrong and I would have to have them cut open and re-done.

"It was horrific and my mood during that time was horrendous."

A North Tees Hospital Trust spokesperson said: "We continue to offer open lines of communication to try to address concerns raised.

"The trust works to support any complainant that raises concerns with our organisation.

"We would encourage working with our patient experience team to ensure individual cases are dealt with appropriately.

"We are always dedicated to ensuring safe, quality care for all of our patients.

"We continue to work closely with the Care Quality Commission to ensure all actions identified in our 2022 inspection have been enacted."

NHS England has been approached for comment.