Inquest Reveals Rare Complications Led to Newborn's Tragic Death

According to an inquest held in November 2025, a "unique set of circumstances" led to the tragic death of baby George Dosanjh just three days after his premature birth at the Royal Stoke University Hospital in Stoke-on-Trent.

George was delivered by emergency caesarean section on December 3, 2022, after his mother, Charlotte Hird, went into labor early at 34 weeks. During the procedure, an acute placental abruption occurred, where the placenta became detached from the womb, leaving George starved of oxygen. Medics also faced the challenge of an impacted fetal head, where the baby's head became lodged in the mother's pelvis, making the delivery even more complex.

Despite the staff's efforts to deliver George as quickly as possible, he was born with multiple organ failure and hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy, a type of brain injury caused by lack of oxygen, and sadly passed away just three days later.

An expert witness, Mustafa Sadiq, a consultant at Wirral University Hospital, stated that the care received by George and Charlotte had been in line with standard procedure, and that the staff had taken reasonable decisions throughout the emergency. However, he added that more samples could have been taken during the procedures, which would have helped to better understand the timing of the placental abruption, even though it would not have changed the outcome.

Paying tribute to her son, Ms. Hird described George as "perfect in every way possible," and said that there isn't a day that goes by when the family isn't thinking about him.