Newborn Allegedly Dies After Mother's Induction Is Delayed for 60 Hours Due to 'Hospital Capacity,' According to Lawsuit

Mar. 15, 2025

Adyn Humphries and Chelsea Wootton with their daughter Ava-Lea, who died at 35 hours old.Photo:Irwin Mitchell/SWNS

Irwin Mitchell/SWNS

Chelsea Wootton, 31, was scheduled to be induced at 41 weeks pregnant, her law firm Irwin Mitchell said, according to theBBC.

Yet she was never warned about the dangers of going over the 41-week mark, according toa statement Irwin Mitchellshared with PEOPLE.

In August, the mom from Birmingham, UK, went into labor a day before her planned induction to deliver daughter Ava-Lea, the BBC reports. After being admitted to Birmingham City Hospital one day early, she was sent home due to “a lack of hospital capacity,” and told to return the next day, the lawsuit alleges. Two hours after she got home,her water broke.

As theCleveland Clinicexplains, water breaking is a sign that labor is coming. “Amniotic fluid is a protective barrier, and without it, the fetus is at risk for infection and other medical conditions.”

Adyn Humphries and Chelsea Wootton with their daughter.Irwin Mitchell/SWNS

It was at this time Wootton asked for an emergency C-section, but the outlet says she was denied care due to other emergencies at the hospital.

“I kept trying to raise concerns and I asked for a cesarean but I felt I was being ignored. It was only when concerns were raised about Ava-Lea’s heart rate did it feel that our care was a priority,” she said, according to Irwin Mitchell. “By then it was too late.”

When Ava-Lea’s heartrate was classified as “suspicious,” Irwin Mitchell says, Wootten agreed to an assisted birth with forceps. But Ava-Lea died at 35 hours old, a direct result of oxygen deprivation andinhaling meconium, according to the BBC.

Chelsea Wootton takes a selfie while pregnant.Irwin Mitchell/SWNS

Irwin Mitchell says Ava-Lea had developed sepsis, which, according to theNational Library of Medicine, can result from meconium aspiration syndrome. The law firm says the newborn had to be resuscitated and was then placed on palliative care in the neonatal intensive care unit.

PEOPLE reached out Sandwell and West Birmingham trust, which operates Birmingham’s City Hospital, for comment. In a statement to PEOPLE, Helen Hurst, Director of Midwifery for the trust said: “This is unbearably sad and we are deeply distressed at the loss of Ava-Lea. We extend our deepest sympathies to her parents, wider family and friends. We have all learned from this tragedy and have already enacted a plan to monitor the improvements we have made.”

“We apologised to Ava-Lea’s family when we met with them to share the findings of our own investigation.”

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source: people.com