Extended Report: Nine grieving families call for public inquiry into Sussex maternity services
Watch Andy Dickenson's extended web report
Nine families who lost babies at hospitals run by the University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust say they want a public inquiry into the standard of its maternity care.
Together, they've sent a letter to politicians asking for action after the babies died between 2021 and 2023.
All, they say, died due to preventable mistakes in care.
Chloe Vowells-Lovett's daughter Esme died at birth, her heart not beating.
Robyn Davis's son Orlando was starved of oxygen at birth and died two weeks later. Katie Fowler's daughter Abigail was again starved of oxygen, and died after two days.
Maternity services where Esme and Orlando were born in Worthing are currently rated as 'requires improvement'.
The Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton where Abigail was born was most recently rated by the CQC as 'inadequate'.
Katie Fowler said: "I went from being the happiest I'd ever been, I loved being pregnant, to the absolute devastation of losing my daughter completely unexpectedly.
"And what has surprised me is I feel that the Trust have managed to somehow make what is already a horrendous situation worse.
"And it's really distressing to know that there were so many other families in similar situations."
Robyn Davis added: "This keeps happening and therefore we do believe that it is more of a systemic issue.
"We just want the whole care evaluated and the learning outcomes to be put into place to make sure that this does not happen to any other family, because we're quite literally all living through hell.
"A public inquiry into maternity services is definitely needed to review all hospitals because sadly this is happening everywhere."
Dr Maggie Davies, chief nurse at University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We offer our deepest condolences and sincere apologies to each of the bereaved families for their devastating loss.
“Whilst we recognise that no words can ease their pain, our dedicated teams are committed to listening, learning and improving the service, so that mothers-to-be, mothers and their babies are as safe as they possibly can be whilst in our care.
“We have recruited more midwives, changed how we listen to and support families, and we have a nationally recommended triage process to help react quickly if there are any reasons for concern.
“Our outcomes for mothers and babies are now better than most other Trusts in the country, but we know we must continue to listen and improve, and would always want to meet any families who have concerns to understand their experiences and make changes where possible.”
The nine families are now inviting any more mothers who've similarly suffered to come forward - as they take their fight for answers as far as possible, in the hope that lives can be saved.