After months of fighting, families who were traumatized by the poor care provided at Nottingham's failing maternity units received some good news.
Donna Ockenden, a senior midwife, was the one who initiated the investigation into the UK's largest maternity scandal in Shropshire. She will now lead a review of what is wrong with the services.
Numerous babies died or were left with severe injuries in hospitals. More than PS91m has been paid by Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH trust) for damages and costs.
BBC asked affected families - some of which are due to meet Ms Ockenden in person - if they felt the review offered them the chance of having their voices heard.
Natalie Needham's 24-hour-old son Kouper was killed in July 2019. He was found in a Moses Basket in their living room.
Natalie expressed concern when he was discharged at Nottingham City Hospital 14 hours after his arrival in July 2019.
She said, "He wasn’t eating."
He did cry, but it was very brief and he didn't move much after that. He seemed blue. He looked very dead, almost like he was asleep."
Natalie stated that she and Dave had spoken to four midwives in an effort to address their concerns.
She stated that she couldn't get her son to breastfeed, syringe-feed [or] bottle-feed.
"We raised the alarm quite often with different midwives.
"They gave us options but he didn't eat. Nobody followed up or tried to find out why he was not eating."
Natalie believes that her concerns were disregarded because she had four older kids.
It was almost as if they were saying, "You're a competent mother; we'll let it go." Instead of thinking, "This is her fifth child and he's expressing concern."
She said, "It should've set alarm bells ringing."
The family welcomed the baby at home that afternoon.
Dave found out that Kouper wasn't breathing in the early hours of the morning.
Natalie stated, "I just recall running down the stairs thinking,"
"We called an ambulance and did CPR. Dave tried to keep his children out of the way so that they wouldn't see as much, but they wanted to be there with him.
"My eldest sat beside him and held his hands while we performed CPR. We told him that it would be okay and that we loved him.
"You think you're going wake up from your nightmare, but someone is going to tell it was a dream."
A coroner concluded that Kouper died from respiratory distress.
Natalie stated: "Even with proper care, we can't predict the outcome. But he was never given the chance."
"We cannot say that he would have survived or that he wouldn’t have died, but he was failing because no one listened to us."
She stated that Donna Ockenden's naming was a significant milestone for her and other families who felt ignored at birth and later.
She said, "We are still concerned; we don't know her plans but as a family, the families are ready for her to take the reins and allow her to do it justice."
"We feel that now we have the opportunity to voice our concerns. It's moving in the right direction, we feel.
Michelle Welsh, a Arnold resident, experienced a difficult pregnancy due to a condition known as a heart-shaped baby.
She booked a Caesarean section after consulting her consultant.
She was told by her consultant that she should go into labor immediately. To do this, she had to be admitted to the hospital.
Michelle was in labor when she called Nottingham City Hospital's Maternity Unit. Michelle said that the midwife had told her she didn't have time to review her file and that she wouldn't be admitted.
Michelle said, "I was taken aback." "I felt stupid."
She was eventually admitted to the hospital, but by then she stated that she felt "really scared".
"My waters had broken, which my consultant advised would be dangerous for me as well as for the baby. She said that my baby couldn't be naturally born.
"The midwife was the first to tell me, "Why did you leave it so much?" "Why didn't your midwife come in sooner? She said.
The staff at the hospital began to monitor the baby's heartbeat.
"The first machine they tried to get out of was not functional." Michelle stated that the second machine they got out of it didn't work.
They tried the third machine, but the sticky pads wouldn't work. So they made plasters. Then they couldn't find my baby’s heartbeat.
"So, I was lying there, not knowing if my baby was still alive or not."
Michelle stated that the consultant at the hospital did not communicate with her in any meaningful manner.
She said, "It was as if I had done something wrong."
Michelle initially stated that she was told that the Caesarean would take place the next morning, but she could clearly see her baby's heartrate dropping on the monitor.
"The midwife stated that she didn't feel comfortable with the situation. She said, "I'm going in to get the consultant back."
"The consultant returned to the room reluctantly and stated that we would need to perform an emergency C-section as soon possible.
"So, I had to have an emergency C-section. All of it completely avoidable."
Michelle was incredibly relieved when her baby boy William let out an "almighty cry".
"I was traumatized and was clearly heavily drugged up. She said that she had placed her baby in the cot next to me.
She claimed that she was told that the baby would need to be checked every ten minutes. Michelle fell asleep for an hour and a half.
She said, "When I woke up, I turned to see my baby and took a photo of him. He was covered in his vomit."
"I don’t believe they checked on us as often they claimed they would."
William, also known as Billy, is now two years old.
Michelle, a Labour councillor in Nottinghamshire and a member of the health scrutiny committee, said, "I am fortunate."
"I came out of the hospital with my little boy, and he is my absolute world. I love him so much that I sometimes wonder if it could have been different."
She stated that Donna Ockenden had given hope to families by putting her in charge.
She said, "There is light at the end"
"I am aware that there are still poor practices. My concern is that NUH believes her arrival will mean things are resolved.
"I am also worried that the trust will not listen to her. It's important that the government supports Donna Ockenden.
"People need to listen to women because they know their bodies."
"While they may not be able to know all of the medical facts going on, all the families I spoke to expressed concern to healthcare professionals that something was wrong and it was dismissed.
"This cannot continue."
Wynter Andrews, Sarah and Gary Andrews' baby girl, was born 23 minutes after her birth at the Queen's Medical Centre in the city.
According to the BBC, the couple said they are still "very concerned" about problems that remain many years later.
These comments were made in the aftermath of the Care Quality Commission's (CQC) report that recommended significant improvements at the city’s maternity units.
Sarah stated that she felt it was concerning that there were still so many problems.
She said she was "delighted” Donna Ockenden was appointed to head the review in Nottingham.
"We believe it's something that was much-needed. She said that families need to feel confident in the review and that it must make meaningful and real changes moving forwards.
Families and campaigners have been critical of the original review's independence and remit.
Gary stated that Ms. Ockenden's appointment was "a beacon of light".
He stated, "It was obvious that the review that was done, it was widely acknowledged that it was not fit for purpose, and it was wolly inadequate."
"She [Donna Ockenden] arrives with the respect of type of a network bereavement families in Shrewsbury, Telford, and she is truly independent."
NUH stated that many improvements to the service were making a difference in care.
These included the establishment of a 24-hour maternity advice line, the hiring of additional staff, and the segregation of routine and emergency assessments at both hospitals.
Sharon Wallis, Director of Midwifery, stated that "our aim is to provide the best maternity care for the families who use our services. To do this, we are committed to supporting our review team's efforts, which will be combined with our own improvement team to ensure that we learn and improve."
Follow BBC East Midlands via Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@bbc.co.uk.
