Worthing midwife tells inquest she saw no cause for concern during tragic birth

Eve Smith, a midwife at Worthing Hospital who cared for Robyn Davis on September 10, 2021, during the tragic birth of her son, told the court she followed procedure as much as possible.

“There wasn’t anything in her behaviour that concerned me,” she told the Coroner, describing Robyn, “I was happy with the way she behaved the whole time that I was there."

Her statement comes after Mrs Davis told the inquest on Wednesday (March 6) that she felt lethargic and disassociated for much of the birth, complaining to midwives of lower back pain, an inability to urinate and the sense that something ‘wasn’t right’ during labour.

Eve Smith told the court that she was unaware of any change in Robyn’s mental state. “She was behaving like a woman in labour. Yes she was in pain, but nothing in her behaviour concerned me.

"I remember her commenting sometimes that she felt like things weren’t right – It’s very common inbetween two stages of birth.”

Orlando, who was considered a healthy baby during pregnancy, was born with a drastically reduced life expectancy and at risk of serious disabilities. He died on September 24, two weeks after he was born.

A former midwife at Worthing Hospital herself, Mrs Davis, of Steyning, also accused her former colleagues of failing to monitor her fluid intake during the birth, and failing to take her to hospital when they spotted an increase in Orlando’s heart rate.

Eve Smith said that, unless there was cause for concern, it was not ‘common practice’ to monitor fluid intake during birth. “The most recent guidance is extremely different. At the time, making sure they were drinking lots of water was as far as it went,” she said.

She also explained that, although she was concerned about Orlando’s heart rate at one stage, when two readings were in excess of the healthy limit of 155bpm, Mrs Davis declined a trip to the hospital and the baby’s heart rate settled some time afterwards.

Asked if she felt things should have been different, Eve Smith told coroner Penelope Schofield: “I would not have done anything differently.”

The inquest, which is taking place in Chichester, continues.

In a statement released ahead of the inquest, Chief nurse Maggie Davies, of the University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust, said:

“We wish to offer our heartfelt condolences to Orlando’s family at this hugely difficult time.

“We will be doing all we can to assist the coroner and the family to understand the circumstances surrounding the tragic loss of their baby boy.”