Bosses at a Scots hospital have apologised after a swab was left inside of a mum who believed she was going to die following the birth of her daughter.
Aisha McCracken accused the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) in Glasgow of negligence. It came after she complained of severe discomfort, feeling unwell and experiencing a foul smell several times to staff before making the shock discovery herself.
The 29-year-old was terrified the medical debris left for eight days inside her body could have resulted in sepsis or toxic shock syndrome – potentially leaving her newborn without a mum.
Aisha, a nursery teacher from Darnley, gave birth to little Sophie at the QEUH in June 2024, a month before her due date.
Both mother and daughter remained in hospital following the birth, but due to a persistent pain and foul stench the mum repeatedly told medics something wasn’t right.
She told Glasgow Live: “About two days after giving birth, I said to the midwife I was finding it really sore to sit down and to get up and walk about, and that there was a smell starting to come.
“I was assured that I’d just given birth, and that I’d just had a cut so I was obviously going to be in pain. It wasn’t very helpful at all.”
Aisha was later examined by a midwife and after five days returned home while Sophie remained in hospital, but the new mum was still in severe discomfort and showering as many as four times a day due to a “foul smell” the unaccounted-for swab was causing.
She was visually examined again by a community midwife on her return home but the swab was missed. She continued to feel unwell and was prescribed antibiotics.
More than a week after giving birth, Aisha returned from visiting her baby daughter at the QEUH and showered before making the horrifying discovery when she examined herself in the mirror.
She said: “To my horror, there was a brown, foreign object lodged inside of me. It explains why I was feeling heavy, sore and had loads of different symptoms.
“You could smell it even through clothes in a shop. It was disgusting and humiliating.”
Husband David McCracken, 31, rushed Aisha back to the QEUH, where she was examined.
She said: “It wasn’t pleasant, and there was no pain relief. I wasn’t told anything was being removed, and then suddenly there was this piece of medical gauze that was soaked with eight days of blood, discharge, and bodily fluids.
“I asked for it to be taken away immediately because it was just horrifying. I broke down in tears. I had told them I wasn’t feeling well and they palmed me off. My gut was right, and I realised I could have turned septic or developed toxic shock syndrome. I could have died.
“I’ve not been myself since giving birth. It ruined the first three months of my daughter’s life. I suffered postnatal depression. It has been awful. This was a preventable mistake, and I am appalled by how my concerns were ignored.”
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has since apologised to Aisha, adding that it was implementing a new system to prevent such incidents happening again.
She says she was told by hospital officials that a Significant Adverse Event Review would be undertaken to examine the causes of the incident and help guard against a repeat.
Aisha said: “I’ve waited months to find out why this happened to me. I feel the way it has been dealt with is absolutely disgusting. There has to be awareness of what’s happened to me, and I hope it opens NHS eyes and they’ll resolve to help me and start my involvement within this process.”
Dr Claire Harrow, Deputy Medical Director for Acute Services at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, said: “We would like to apologise unreservedly to Mrs McCracken for the distress she has suffered.
“The circumstances of this case are the subject of a detailed investigation, and we are currently implementing a new system to prevent such incidents happening again. This includes a new reporting tool in all birth rooms, a new standard operating procedure and enhanced training for all staff.”