THE mum of a baby who was decapitated in a botched delivery has told how his final moments still haunt her, ten years on.
Laura Gallazzi, 40, told how she jolts awake covered in a cold sweat most nights as she repeatedly re-lives the turmoil of losing her beloved son Steven in the “medieval” horror birth on March 16, 2014.
The carer, of Dundee, said: “A decade may have passed, but my pain is as raw as ever. I’ll never forget the noise of his head coming away from his body and the wave of panic that spread through the room.
“I ask myself the same question over and over- would my dear boy be alive today, if the surgeon had just carried out a C-section?”
Laura was initially admitted to Ninewells Hospital in the city, when her waters broke at 25 weeks.
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Despite medics warning her the baby would likely be born prematurely by C-section – the brave first-time mum felt she was in “safe hands” and there was even talk of her being able to go home.
But an unexpected prolapse of the umbilical cord saw her rushed into emergency theatre – but instead of carrying out a C-section, Dr Vaishnavy Laxman – who was coming to the end of a 24-hour shift - instead attempted a natural delivery.
She said: “I’ll never forget the confusion I felt being told to push, when I was only 3cms dilated and didn’t feel the urge to do so. It just felt wrong but I went along with what she was telling me to do.
“Dr Laxman was pulling and tugging at his legs - and then I heard a pop. I thought it was over.
“But then I heard a voice saying I was being put to sleep and the lights went out.”
When she came round hours later, Laura was told the devastating news that her baby had died because his body had been torn from his head - which was later retrieved from Laura’s womb by C-section.
She said: “I’ll never forget the utter shock and horror I felt. It was like somebody had ripped my heart out.
“They were describing something which belonged in a horror movie or associated with medieval times.”
Docs reattached Steven’s body to his head, so Laura could say goodbye to her beloved boy.
“I had a burning scar on my tummy, but was going home empty handed.
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“I just cried and cried. They’d sewn him back together so I could hold him. He was so fragile”, she said.
It also meant photographs could be taken, one of which she is bravely sharing for the first time on the tenth anniversary of his death.
She said: “I’ve chosen to show the world his little face to prove that he did exist.
“Yes, the odds were against him, but if he’d been delivered via C-section, he would’ve had a chance.
“And because Steven didn’t take a breath, the law doesn’t recognise him as a person.
“This is despite me having his death certificate and us having a funeral for him.
“It meant there was no Fatal Accident Inquiry and no-one held responsible over his death.
“I feel robbed of justice for my boy.”
A post mortem revealed other injuries including damage to the boy’s liver, lungs, kidneys, heart, and bleeding down both sides of abdomen.
Dr Vaishnavy Laxman was criticised by a tribunal for not performing a C-section, but was not struck off.
Prosecutors told Laura there would be no prosecution.
“Dr Laxman killed my son but she didn’t face any consequences.
“I thought the decapitation was the worst of it but no.
“The pathologist found the cause of death was due to a traumatic delivery.
“It was nothing to do with his health – it was to do with the violent way in which she was trying to deliver my baby.
“I feel like it was all brushed under the carpet. She can go on as normal with her life but I have a baby-shaped hole in mine.”
Laura – who keeps the tot’s ashes in a blue Build a Bear - has been campaigning for a change in the law ever since, so parents can pursue further proceedings.
Laura, who regularly visits the city’s Botanic Gardens and the Simba Charity copper tree memorial to ‘babies born sleeping’ to remember her son, said: “It keeps me going. I like to say Steven’s name out loud in conversations and speak about what he might have been like.
“I’m planning on marking his tenth birthday by getting a tattoo of a bear lying in grass, scattered with ten Forget Me Not flowers.”
Laura, who still suffers panic attacks and has a phobia of hospitals, has been supported by Sands - the Stillbirth and Neonatal Death charity – and has joined the Itty Bitty Baby Things For Angel Wings Tayside charity, which delivers support packs - including hand-knitted outfits for tragic infants.
Laura said: “The ordeal has ruined any hope of becoming a mother again.
“Christmases are hard, birthdays are even harder – it’s never-ending.
“I don’t think I’d be here if it wasn’t for my support network.
“I just want to spread awareness and give hope to other parents by sharing my story and never giving up.”
