Axon McVey was born dead after his birth went catastrophically to the Lagan Valley Midwifery Unit (MLU) on Mother’s Day in 2017. Christine McCleery, 39, said she would never have chosen to give birth at Lagan Valley Hospital if she had been fully informed of the potential risks in advance. “It’s soul-destroying, it’s completely heartbreaking,” he said. “He was such a healthy baby, but he did not have oxygen.” He spoke as the South Eastern Trust announced a temporary cessation of labor at Lagan Valley Hospital on Thursday. Describing the suspension as a “precautionary measure”, the Trust said it was in response to “concerns expressed about a very small number of cases born in the unit”. The time period in which the cases under consideration occurred is not known, but it is understood that the trust is examining the circumstances of certain births since Jackson’s death. The tragedy was followed by a check-up of serious side effects, which Christine said she had identified a number of issues regarding her care. That included an error in her personal details recorded during the booking appointment, which resulted in her failure to acknowledge that development scans had to be performed, she said. Christine added that she was worried when she arrived at Lagan Valley MLU and there were only three staff members. “Basically, things went wrong in the last stages of childbirth and things did not go as fast as they should,” he said. Midwives diagnosed shoulder dyskinesia – where the baby’s shoulder sticks during childbirth – but Jaxon’s attempts to free him were unsuccessful. Christine added: “They tried some common maneuvers and they even had to get my partner to help because there were only three of them. “I was watching him and he almost fainted while I was facing the pain of childbirth and these very invasive procedures. “After five minutes of trying, they called for an ambulance and while they were waiting to arrive, they kept trying. “The ambulance arrived there eight minutes after the call, but it was 40 minutes before we arrived at the Royal. “There was a group of 10 to 15 people waiting for us and Jaxon surrendered very quickly, but it was too late. “They worked on him for 40 minutes, but I knew he was gone.” Christine plunged into a nightmare as she planned her baby’s funeral as she struggled to figure out how the tragedy had happened. “I spent months sitting at my kitchen table trying to figure out what happened,” he explained. “My life will never be the same. “I have another baby since then, he will never replace Jackson, but he is the only thing that kept me going.” Christine described the decision to stop deliveries in Lagan Valley as “bittersweet” and said the plant should be closed permanently. “When something goes wrong with a birth, it can happen so fast and every second counts,” he said. “A midwife unit should be located next to a unit where emergency care can be provided when needed, where midwives can get immediate support when something goes wrong. “I do not want any other family to go through what I have gone through.”
