PARENTS of a baby boy who suffocated during labour leading to his death have spoken of their pain and anguish.

Hayley Powsney, aged 31, of Unsworth, went into labour and was admitted to North Manchester General Hospital in February 2014 where she and her husband Adam, aged 33, were told that their baby boy, Joshua, was breach.

The maternity staff advised the couple that it would be best for Hayley to have a C-section.

But, while they waited on the labour ward, there was a change of shift and a new consultant recommended a natural birth without fully informing them of the risks involved.

Sadly, during the labour, Joshua’s heart rate was not monitored correctly towards the end of the delivery process and he suffocated and was stillborn.

Pennine Acute Hospitals Trust, which is responsible for the hospital, has admitted that, if Hayley had been given a C-section as the couple requested and his heart rate monitored correctly, Joshua would have been born alive.

The Powsneys are keen to raise the issues of stillbirths to stop what sadly happened to them happening to other families.

Mr Powsney said: “I cannot put into words the anger and upset I feel at the advice we were given that led us to believe that a natural labour would have been safer for Hayley and Joshua instead of a C-section.

“Our initial instincts to have a C-section when we found out Joshua was breach were ignored and they turned out to be right.

“We will never recover from knowing that a C-section would have saved Joshua’s life.

“The amount of stress and anxiety this ordeal has caused me and Hayley and both of our families are indescribable and the hospital and trust need to acknowledge that treating people in this way breaks people’s hearts.”

Sophie Fox, a specialist medical negligence solicitor at law firm JMW, is representing Hayley and Adam in their battle for justice.

Ms Fox said: “This is a particularly tragic case were the incorrect clinical decisions that were made for Hayley and her baby very sadly led to him being born stillborn.

“Doctors did not properly consent for Hayley to have a natural labour and also failed to monitor his heart rate during the last stages of the delivery process.

“These two factors meant Joshua suffocated and both Adam and Hayley have to now live with this heartbreak for the rest of their lives.

“We hope this investigation will help them both find closure from this tragic event.”

Hayley and Adam went on to have a baby girl named Edie in February 2015 at St Mary’s Hospital, Manchester via C-section, which went well.

Adam added: “It is heart breaking to know that we placed our trust in the medical professionals and this trust on this occasion was tragically misplaced.

“Our loss has affected us differently but we both feel angry, hurt and frustrated.

“We have channelled our anger into our legal case and we are pleased that the trust has admitted liability.

“We now want to raise awareness of these issues regarding stillbirths so that we hope other families won’t have to cope with a devastating loss like us.”

The trust commissioned a review into maternity deaths at it hospitals, which was published in April 2015.

But Joshua was not included in their investigations, and the Powsneys said they were angry that Joshua was not included in the review.

The Powsneys are now involved with Lancet Ending Preventable Stillbirth series, which is a collection of research papers that analyse cases such as Joshua’s.

A trust spokesman said: "We would like to apologise again to the Powsney family for the tragic circumstances surrounding the death of baby Joshua and for the pain and anguish they have suffered.

"Joshua’s case was investigated by the trust and we have ensured that all learning has been identified.

"This has been shared with Joshua’s parents.

"We have made a formal admission of liability in respect of the family’s claim for clinical negligence.

"Over the past year we have made significant improvements in our maternity services.

"We have recruited 24 new midwives and 40 additional health care support workers to improve the individual experience of woman and babies born in the trust’s two maternity departments at North Manchester General Hospital and The Royal Oldham Hospital.

"We have joined the SaBiNE (Saving Babies Lives in the North of England) initiative to improve the detection and management of babies who are smaller than would normally be expected and to reduce the number of stillbirths and early neonatal deaths.

"We have also improved training for our staff, changed the way we report and investigate incidents and have entered into a partnership with Newcastle Foundation Trust maternity services so that we can share learning.”