If Charlotte Bassett had known that her daughter Norah’s life would be numbered in hours and minutes, not decades and years, she’d never have left her side. But she didn’t. So Charlotte went to have a shower after Norah’s birth on 12 April 2019. When she came out of the shower, a junior doctor was assessing Norah, who was being looked after by her father, James Bassett. The doctor gave Norah the all-clear, and left them alone.
The maternity unit at the Royal Hampshire county hospital in Winchester was busy that evening. When the night shift came on duty, a midwife introduced herself. “She was very brusque,” Charlotte, 37, a data manager, remembers. “She said, ‘We’ve got too many people here. I’ve got this and this to do.’” Charlotte tried to breastfeed Norah, but she wasn’t latching. The midwife told Charlotte to cup feed her with formula. She didn’t stay to watch. Charlotte poured milk from a cup into Norah’s rosebud mouth. Blood came out. It was staining the muslin. The midwife didn’t seem concerned.
