Mother's heartbreak: How 30 blunders by hospital killed my newborn baby

Lisa Callaway's son Alwyn weighed 7lb 8oz, with perfectly formed limbs and a shock of dark hair.

But the baby she and husband William had longed for lived only two days, killed by the professionals entrusted with his care.

Mr Callaway, 39, a university registrar, and his wife, a television producer, now know that their child would have lived if 30 warnings, clearly shown on a heart monitor, had been understood by staff at Watford General Hospital.

The evidence of Alwyn's failing heart rate was recorded in medicalnotes and reported to senior staff 11 times in seven hours - yet no oneunderstood the baby's life was in danger.

The couple realised their son had been in distress for seven hours only when they received a copy of the medical notes.

These showed his heartbeat slowing during contractions and taking progressively longer to get back to normal.
Following the traumatic birth Alwyn - his names means most beloved -was transferred to intensive care at Queen Charlotte's Hospital in WestLondon.

Mrs Callaway was allowed to touch her child once before he was taken away.
She was reunited with him the next morning but he lived for only two days.
"So many people came to his funeral, it was overwhelming," she said.

After the tragedy the Callaways moved repeatedly, carrying Alwyn'sashes with them, before finally returning to their native Wales.