AS RIC Hart tucks his six-year-old son, Hugo, into bed, there is only one bedtime story that he wants to hear – tales about the mum he never knew.
Ric’s wife, Jade, was just 33 when she went into labour with their son, but she would pass away hours later when doctors on the maternity ward made a fatal error.
Jade fell pregnant with their only son in August 2017, and Ric, from Misterton in Nottinghamshire, says the couple were overjoyed to find out they were having a baby boy on Valentine’s Day.
Ric says: “Our five-month gender scan was on Valentine’s Day – which was the date we had first met. It felt like fate.
“Jade loved being pregnant, but towards the end she was induced due to high blood pressure.”
As the labour progressed, Ric says that there was no sense of “urgency or alarm”, but when Jade asked for an epidural, the doctors told her it “wasn’t an option”.
Despite the long wait, Baby Hugo was born at 10.09 pm on July 8 2018, at Bassetlaw Hospital in Nottinghamshire.
Ric says: “Jade held Hugo and said to me: ‘I can’t believe he’s ours.’
Jade was taken into theatre, and I told her I loved her. I had no idea it was an emergency. I thought it was routine surgery
Ric Hart
But the couple were completely unaware of the horror that was about to unfold as doctors tugged on the umbilical cord four times, hoping the missing placenta would follow.
Instead, Jade suffered an inverted uterus, a rare condition where the womb is turned inside. Tragically it proved fatal.
Ric says: “I saw the doctor pulling on the umbilical cord, and the uterus came out, but I thought it was the placenta.
“Jade was taken into theatre, and I told her I loved her. I had no idea it was an emergency. I thought it was routine surgery.”
Jade suffered heavy bleeding and five cardiac arrests, and she was taken to ICU, but at 5am the following morning, she passed away.
Ric says: “I was shell-shocked.
“After Jade died, I had to announce Hugo’s name to the whole family who were assembled at the hospital. We had planned to share that moment together.
“I picked his middle name, ‘Jaden’, in memory of his mother.
“I brought Hugo home, on my own, and it was heartbreaking. It should have been the most beautiful moment for us.”
Childhood sweethearts
The couple were childhood sweethearts, having met when Jade was 17 and at sixth form, and Ric was 18 and at college.
They married in Thailand in April 2015 and enjoyed travelling together before deciding to try for a baby.
Ric, 41, says: “Jade lived for each day, she loved to travel, and she’d been all over the world.
“When Hugo is old enough, in her memory, I will take him travelling too.”
Ric was faced with the daunting task of raising newborn Hugo by himself while coping with the sudden loss of his wife.
He says: “I was feeding Hugo milk every two hours and all through the night also, trying to grab small naps which came to 2-3 hours of sleep daily if I was lucky, with a bundle of nappy changes, alongside clothing him, washing him.
“Amongst all this, every day my tears would fall onto Hugo from sobbing so much.”
Through the first few years after Jade’s death, Ric used running to help him manage his grief.
“I ran 100s of miles in my first year of loss,” he says.
“I did numerous 10k runs for Jade with family and friends. I did a half-marathon, leading onto the full marathon in October 2019, solo.
“I ran while Hugo was at nursery for a few hours twice a week.
“It was the only way to process everything and try to gain more energy.”
‘Exceptionally bad’ decision
An inquest into Jade’s death heard that the umbilical cord was pulled at least four times by a doctor when Jade’s placenta had not been separated.
This led to Jade’s death and was branded a “very serious omission of care” by Assistant Coroner Dr Elizabeth Didcock.
Jade suffered a number of cardiac arrests but would not have died were it not for the uterine inversion, the inquest found.
It also found that the mismanagement of her ongoing haemorrhage contributed to her death, as regular checks were not undertaken in the hours before she passed.
Deep grief alongside bringing a newborn into this world alone has been by far my hardest challenge in life and nothing will come close
Ric Hart
Neglect contributed to her death.
The individual mistakes could not have been foreseen by Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, the inquest heard. They came instead as a result of guidance not being followed.
The trust came under fire from the coroner for a report passed on by them after the incident. It omitted criticism and analysis done by an independent expert on the incident.
The expert who undertook the review found that Jade’s doctor had breached a duty of care and their actions were “well below” what was expected of them, and that a “truly exceptionally bad” decision that would result in a massive risk of death.
On top of that, they said mismanagement of the haemorrhage also represented a gross breach of duty.
Where to seek grief support
Need professional help with grief?
- Child Bereavement UK Childbereavementuk.org
- Cruse Bereavement Cruse.org.uk
- Relate Relate.org.uk
- The Good Grief Trust Thegoodgrieftrust.org
- You can also always speak to your GP if you’re struggling.
You’re Not Alone
Check out these books, podcasts and apps that all expertly navigate grief…
- Griefcast: Cariad Lloyd interviews comedians on this award-winning podcast.
- The Madness Of Grief by Rev Richard Coles (£9.99, W&N): The Strictly fave writes movingly on losing his husband David to alcoholism.
- Terrible, Thanks For Asking: Podcast host Nora McInerny encourages non-celebs to share how they’re really feeling.
- Good Mourning by Sally Douglas and Imogen Carn (£14.99, Murdoch Books): A guide for people who’ve suffered sudden loss, like the authors who both lost their mums.
- Grief Works: Download this for daily meditations and expert tips.
- How To Grieve Like A Champ by Lianna Champ (£3.99, Red Door Press): A book for improving your relationship with death.
Dr Didcock said: “Serious omissions has led to insufficient learning and no acceptance that this had caused serious distress to the family.
“This poses a risk of similar deaths occurring in the future. I am not reassured the necessary actions are in place.”
Dr Tim Noble, Executive Medical Director at Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals (DBTH), said: “On behalf of the Trust, I want to again share my sincere apologies and sympathies with Jade’s husband Ric and her family and friends.
“As was highlighted during the inquest, this was a truly tragic case and we are grateful for the Coroner’s time and careful deliberation in reaching a conclusion.
“We will review carefully the Coroner’s findings and take any actions needed to further improve the safety of the Trust’s Maternity services.”
‘Hardest challenge’
Ric says that while running to cope with the grief of losing Jade, he had the idea to write a book about his bereavement experience.
He says: “Amongst all this running came all my ideas, my book ideas and going onto achieving something great and leaving a legacy for Jade, turning negativity into a new direction and focus.”
Ric, who worked in sales, wrote a children’s bereavement book called: ‘Hugo and Daddy’s Nighttime Adventures’ which describes his mother flying with Hugo in the night sky.
Ric says: “I found that writing the book really helped and I’ve since written and published more, designed to help Hugo talk about his mummy in a positive way.”
The dad, who has become a podcaster and author, has also written: ‘Pupy Love’ which is the story of how he and Jade fell in love.
The pair used to message each other with the endearment ‘Pupy’ and Ric kept the unique spelling in his book.
Jade will be in my heart for the rest of my life
Ric Hart
“The books are my way of keeping Jade alive, and of helping Hugo to talk about his mummy in a positive way,” he adds.
“Hugo wants to be an author too when he grows up; he’s been inspired by our journey.”
Ric has now published seven books, five of which are children’s books, alongside his podcast: ‘Real with Ric’. His latest book is entitled: ‘Growth Through Grief.’
He says: “Deep grief alongside bringing a newborn into this world alone has been by far my hardest challenge in life and nothing will come close… I lost, I learnt, I shattered, I grew.
“I did it all for Hugo and Jade will be in my heart for the rest of my life.”
Ric’s books are available to buy on Amazon and in Waterstones.
