I thought I was dying as I gave birth to stillborn girl alone in prison toilet after staff mistook labour for period

A WOMAN gave birth to a stillborn baby alone in a prison toilet after a nurse said her labour was just a painful period.

Louise Powell, then 30, had no idea she was pregnant when she began suffering contractions at HMP Styal in June 2020.


She screamed "I think I'm dying" as she delivered her premature daughter Brooke in a bathroom at the Cheshire jail.

A review has now found staff made a "serious error of judgement" when staff failed to assess Louise properly when she began bleeding.

The mum only realised her daughter had died when she was taken to hospital – and alleges no one at the prison performed CPR or tried to help.

Louise, who didn't believe she was able to conceive, has now told BBC Newsnight: "The pain of Brooke's death will never leave me.

"I cannot forgive the prison for leaving me when I was calling for help.

MUM'S HORROR

"I felt like I was dying.

"I was having a medical emergency and should have been urgently helped. Instead, I was left.

"I want justice for Brooke so no other woman has go through this horror in prison."

Louise spoke just months after a damning report revealed a newborn baby died when a teenage girl gave birth alone at HMP Bronzefield in Middlesex, despite begging for help.

"I was let down and Brooke was let down by the people who were meant to look after us," Louise said.

"I just feel like it was a situation that could have been avoided if it was taken seriously enough."

'I THINK I'M DYING'

Prisons and probation ombudsman Sue McAllister concluded Louise had suffered a "terrifying, painful and traumatic experience".

She called the case "deeply sad and distressing".

Prison staff called the duty nurse three times to raise concerns about Louise over two hours.

However, no one visited her, and it was decided she was suffering a painful period.

It's not known if the baby, who was born weighing just 2.5lbs, could have survived if her mother had been taken to hospital. 

The pain of Brooke's death will never leave me – I can't forgive the prison

Louise had been behind bars for three-and-a-half months when she gave birth.

Ms McAllister told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "This was a really shocking case, it was a very sad case and we're very grateful to Ms Powell for sharing her experience with us and there will significant learning to come out of this.

"What we found is that Ms Powell wasn't aware she was pregnant until the baby was delivered and nobody who came into contact with her at Styal, including her roommate, thought that she was pregnant.

"So when she started to have stomach pains in the evening, she repeatedly told staff that there was no possibility that she could be pregnant."

As a result, Louise was left in "significant unexplained pain" for hours, she said.

Prisons minister Victoria Atkins said: "The tragic events detailed in this report should quite simply never happen to any woman or child, and my deepest sympathies remain with the mother.

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"We have already implemented the report's recommendations and important improvements have been made to the care received by pregnant women in custody.

"We are also looking at how we can better screen for pregnancy in jails so no woman falls through the cracks.

"But there is clearly much more to do to ensure expectant mothers in prison get the same support as those in the community – something I will continue to prioritise."

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