Woman considers legal action after baby is left close to death

Posted 11/01/2011

A woman from south London is considering making a claim for clinical negligence compensation after medics failed to notice she was pregnant.

Anita Arora began to experience symptoms in July 2010, only to be told by her GP that at 46, she was too old to conceive and was actually going through the menopause, the Daily Mail reports.

Despite having treatment for gallstones at Kingston Hospital soon afterwards that required an ultrasound, the baby was still not spotted.

Ms Arora went back to her GP on December 23rd 2010 convinced she was pregnant and demanded a test. It was only then that baby Matthew was discovered.

He had to be delivered straight away at two months premature and surgeons said he could have died if he was left in the womb any longer because placental problems had left him starved of nutrients.

Ms Arora has now complained to her local primary care trust and is considering lodging a clinical negligence claim.

The NHS states that the average age for menopause is 52, so the patient was well within the age range for pregnancy to be considered.

Rosamund Rhodes-Kemp, who heads the Ashtons Legal medical injury team, comments: “This was a serious mistake that could but thankfully did not have more damaging consequences. We wish mum and baby well.”