A MOTHER has been awarded thousands of pounds after medical errors almost cost her and her newborn baby their lives.

Paige Balding, 20, felt like her body was completely shutting down after she was diagnosed with sepsis while giving birth to son Hunter Jae at Basildon Hospital last July.

She was awarded a cash settlement after a tribunal found medics failed to detect the blood infection prior to her going into labour.

During the birth, a second error caused complications when a medical swab was left inside her and was only discovered three days later.

Paige, who has chosen to speak out in a bid to urge mothers to trust their gut and be assertive, said: “I couldn’t believe it because I had blood tests done the previous week and they told me nothing was wrong. They should have picked it up before it was passed to my son.”

Paige, from Stanford-le-Hope, went into labour on July 19 and was taken to hospital the following day.

She added: “When he was born, he wasn’t breathing so they took him away to resuscitate him.

“After that, my body felt like it was shutting down and I had no idea why. I couldn’t keep my eyes open and was going in and out of consciousness for about two hours. I woke up and asked what was going on and they told me I had septicaemia.”

Paige was moved to a different ward to recover but days later, she was still in distress.

“I started getting discomfort and I had no clue what it was.

“The midwife told me that it was just the stitches from when I had given birth so I trusted her.

“The pain went on and got progressively worse and I told the staff they needed to check it because I could feel something there and again was told it was just the stitches. It got to the point where I couldn’t sit down and I was in so much pain.

“I went in and that’s when I realised I could definitely feel something there. I was absolutely disgusted with what I found.

“I asked again if the midwife could take a look and she agreed. When she examined me, she looked like she was going to faint and rushed off to get a consultant after telling me not to move.”

Medics recovered a surgical swab measuring 20cm by 20cm from Paige’s body which had been left in her since she gave birth. She was treated with antibiotics and discharged herself from hospital so she could take her baby, who had now recovered, home.

“Hunter is doing really well now – he’s just like any other 10-month old baby which is a huge relief but this will always be something I will never forget,” she said. I would have loved more children but I just couldn’t even think about it now.”

A spokesperson from Basildon Hospital said: “We regret that the normally outstanding standard of care that our maternity service is recognised for was not provided on this occasion.

“The quality of care we offer and the experience our patients have of our services is our highest priority, as is learning the lessons from incidents and using them as an opportunity to improve our care.

“The Trust is pleased that the parties have reached a settlement agreement, and wishes the family all the very best for the future.”