Tonight's panorama
www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-60434299
Mothers who helped uncover the biggest NHS maternity scandal
That criticism, Panorama can reveal, did lead the family's lawyer to raise in court whether there was "any kind of inbuilt policy or inbuilt bias towards trying to achieve natural births in as many cases as possible". The question also built on inquiries made by Kathryn's parents, Phil and Sonia. "I wondered about the fact that I'd been left so long before going to C-section," said Sonia. "I did a lot of research and found out that Shrewsbury Hospital had the lowest rate of C-sections in the whole of the UK."
Most of the cases the Ockenden review is examining date from 2000-2019. In their interim report, the essence of Sonia Leigh's concerns was strongly highlighted. The inquiry found that rates of caesarean sections at the trust in Shropshire were up to 12% lower than the England average for the period they are examining.
The trust's reputation for unusually high numbers of vaginal births was known. Panorama has discovered that just a month before Kathryn Leigh's inquest, a parliamentary hearing was held to discuss concerns about the rising number of caesarean births across England.
There was concern that child birth was being over-medicalised, and that too many women were having to undergo unnecessary surgical procedures, which like any operation carries risk. It also costs more money.
One hospital was praised for its approach however - the Royal Shrewsbury. At the time, its caesarean levels were half the England average, and a team from the hospital travelled to London.
In the evidence session, seen by Panorama, the then clinical director of the Royal Shrewsbury told MPs: "The culture of our organisation is that we have low intervention rates and once that is known we attract both midwives and obstetricians who like to practise in that way."
His colleague, the manager of women's service at the time, added that midwives who had worked elsewhere "almost need retraining to be able to work in Shropshire. We have recruited people who are like minded. If you want to keep something going and you believe in it, you do not want to employ people who do not believe in what you believe in.
Discussing the initial findings of her inquiry, Donna Ockenden told Panorama, "There were cases where an earlier recourse to caesarean section rather than a persistence towards a normal delivery may well have led to a better outcome for mother or baby or both. Low caesarean section rates were a prize." And the trust had been lauded for them.
My thread from 2016
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/childbirth/2598442-New-Data-Comparing-Hospitals-and-Outcomes-in-Childbirth
My thread from 2018
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3370657-Shrewsbury-and-Telford-Hospital-Trust-with-significantly-lower-CS-rate-in-scandal
The stats made it clear as day to me that something wasn't right. I said it looked problematic.
WHY did no one else spot it? WHY did no one question it?
This is so upsetting to see in black and white.
The publication of the final report by Donna Ockenden is due next month.