'I was seriously injured giving birth - housebound, 5 years of hell and 7 operations later I hope speaking out helps other mums'

A mum has revealed the devastating impact a serious birth trauma injury has had on her life following a six-month diagnosis delay.

Ashley Roper, 37, from Heckmondwike, West Yorkshire, suffered a buttonhole tear of her perineum while giving birth to her son Albi at Pinderfields Hospital in Wakefield. Doctors did not seek the opinion of a specialist surgeon before attempting to repair the injury and Ashley was discharged the following day.

However, the surgery carried out to try repair the tear failed and Ashley continued to suffer symptoms including incontinence and wind. Four days after being sent home from hospital, she was readmitted.

READ MORE: Kirklees mum on impact maternal injury has had on life following six-month diagnosis delay

Doctors should have diagnosed that a gap had developed in her perineum and suggested repair surgery. Instead, Ashley was sent home and advised to do pelvic floor exercises and undergo physiotherapy.

Ashley continued to suffer symptoms which affected her life. She was later referred to a colorectal surgeon who diagnosed her injury the January after she had given birth. She underwent repair surgery which broke down after a few days.

Ashley underwent a further two operations to try and repair the injury, but these also failed. More than 18 months later she was referred to a specialist surgeon for a fourth repair operation which was successful.

In total Ashley underwent seven operations following her diagnosis, including having a stoma fitted and then reversed. Following her ordeal, she instructed expert medical negligence lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to investigate her care under Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs Pinderfields Hospital.

Get all the latest and breaking news in Yorkshire by signing up to our newsletter here.

The trust admitted a breach of duty. It admitted that when Ashley returned to hospital four days after initially being sent home, the trust should have diagnosed the gap in her perineum and offered repair surgery.

Irwin Mitchell has now secured Ashley an undisclosed settlement to fund the ongoing support and rehabilitation she requires following her injury. She has now joined her legal team in calling for lessons to be learned and in raising awareness of the consequences of birth trauma injuries on mums.

Rebecca Tramaseur, the specialist medical negligence lawyer at Irwin Mitchell, representing Ashley, said: “The last few years and coming to terms with the life-changing injury and symptoms Ashley has suffered has been incredibly difficult for not only her but her family.

“The hospital trust has admitted worrying issues in the care it provided to Ashley. We and Ashley firmly believe that if she had received appropriate treatment at the outset, many of the problems she has had to face could have been avoided.

“While nothing can make up for her ordeal, we’re pleased that we’ve been able to secure this settlement which will fund the specialist ongoing support Ashley needs to try and rebuild her life. Through our work we continue to see too many mums suffering unnecessary birth trauma injuries.

“While Ashley has shown tremendous bravery in speaking out in the hope of helping mums, it’s vital that the hospital trust learns lessons from the issues in Ashley’s case to improve patient safety for others.

“We also urge all hospital trusts to ensure that as well as babies, the needs of mums are fully recognised and they receive the best care, not only in childbirth, but also during in any subsequent aftercare they may require.”

Ashley gave birth to Albi on 22 June, 2017, shortly after which she underwent initial surgery. She was discharged the following day but began suffering symptoms. On 27 June, 2017, she returned to Pinderfields Hospital. Following examinations, she was sent home the following day and advised to do pelvic floor exercises and undergo physiotherapy.

Over the coming months Ashley’s symptoms continued. When she expressed concern she was told that it could take three months for her to heal.

Get all the latest and breaking Huddersfield news straight to your inbox by signing up to our daily newsletter here.

In September 2017, she attended a review appointment where she complained that she was experiencing staining of her underwear. She was again advised to do pelvic floor exercises and undergo physiotherapy.

In late 2017, Ashley was referred to a colorectal surgeon. In January 2018 a perineal gap was diagnosed. She underwent her first repair surgery in March 2018 but continued to suffer symptoms.

In April 2018 she underwent surgery to have a stoma fitted. In June she was told the repair surgery had broken down and underwent a second repair operation that September.

On New Year’s Eve 2018, she was due to have her stoma reversed. However, she awoke from anaesthetic to find she still had her stoma. Ashley was told the second repair surgery had not worked and surgeons had tried to repair it for a third time.

Ashley was referred to a specialist at another hospital trust for a fourth repair operation in October 2019. She had her stoma reversed in March 2020. She underwent a seventh operation in April 2022 to help combat urinary incontinence.

She is no longer incontinent or suffers staining but continues to suffer from constipation for which she requires medication. Ashley, a payroll specialist, said: “When you go into hospital to have a child you never expect this kind of thing to happen.

“When I was initially sent home after giving birth to Albi I didn’t feel right so I was surprised when I was sent home for a second time with the advice I was given but I didn’t think I had any reasons to doubt what I was being told.

“However, my symptoms continued, not only for a few weeks but months. The longer they went on the more they affected me, not just physically but emotionally. I suffered discomfort as well as embarrassment as to what I was going through.

“I was desperate for my symptoms to stop and felt my life was just a series of hospital appointments and operations. Each time I hoped surgery would put an end to what I was going through. It was devastating to then be told the repair surgery hadn’t worked. It felt like I was back at square one every time.

“I went from being a resilient, independent woman to needing significant help. I needed large periods of time off work and felt like I was missing out on special time bonding with Albi because of my condition.

“While my friends were meeting in the park and attending baby groups, I was barely able to leave the house. After many dark months to be told that the fourth repair surgery had worked was such a relief. I’m still not right and am at risk of developing complications in the future, but I’m learning to adapt and regain more of my life.

“It's taken me many years to come to terms with and find the courage to speak about what happened to me. The issue of birth trauma is still relatively taboo, but I hope by speaking out I can help other women. Nobody such have to go through such an experience alone as help and support is out there.”

The charity MASIC provides help and support to women who have suffered perineal injuries during childbirth. For more information, click here. Last year it was revealed that more than 50 women who had suffered perineal tears during childbirth at Pinderfields Hospital weren’t given appropriate follow-up treatment.

An internal audit found that 52 women who had experienced third or fourth-degree tears between January 2020 and December 2022 hadn’t been referred for post-natal urogynaecology and physiotherapy follow up, which should be standard practice.

Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust apologised. Last month the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on birth trauma put forward 12 recommendations to improve maternity care. It follows the setting up of a parliamentary inquiry to investigate the reasons for traumatic births.

Talib Yaseen, Chief Nursing Officer at Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust, said: “We are incredibly sorry that Mrs Roper suffered complications following the birth of her son, and regret to have identified that aspects of her care should have been better.

"We sincerely wish Mrs Roper all the best for the future. We reported in August last year that an internal service assurance audit identified 52 women (out of the 17,648 who birthed at the Trust between January 2020 and December 2022) who had experienced a third or fourth degree perineal tear during childbirth, and where the required postnatal referrals to both urogynaecology and physiotherapy services had not been made.

"We are sincerely sorry that those referrals were not made, and we have individually apologised to those women who were impacted and offered them follow-up appointments. We remain committed to providing the best possible care to our patients, ensuring they receive the right diagnosis and treatment they need to get better.

"We take responsibility for our actions and remain dedicated to learning from any shortcomings to continually improve our services.”