Heartbroken campaigner speaks of her miscarriage grief

A former Shetland resident is campaigning for baby loss rooms to be installed in all maternity hospitals across the country.

Louise Caldwell, who used to live in Bressay and Lerwick, had two miscarriages and was forced to have a stillbirth on one occasion in a labour ward, where other parents were welcoming healthy babies.

Mrs Caldwell, 41, and her husband eventually had a child together – with the full pregnancy spent in Shetland before giving birth on the mainland in 2017.

Ever since, Mrs Caldwell has been championing for women to be treated with dignity should they have the same experiences as she had.

The campaign was about “common sense and human rights”, but she said she was unable to bring about change on her own.

“I’m just a mammy from East Kilbride,” Mrs Caldwell told The Shetland Times.

While on a trip to Blackpool during the October holidays before moving to the isles, Mrs Caldwell said she knew the baby’s heart had stopped beating — days before her 12-week scan.

But even when she got the confirmation when she went to what was then called Wishaw General Hospital the following week, she was still in “shock”.

“On the way from my scan to the room in the hospital that was when I had to pass a woman who was sitting on a bed with a big, massive bump,” she recalled.

“She was hearing the baby’s heartbeat, and she was hooked up to the monitor.

“And then, when I went outside, there was a woman sitting with a big, massive bump, and little kiddies playing in the wee kid area.

“So you’re having to pass all that when you’ve literally just been told the news that there’s no heartbeat.”

Later the same day, Mrs Caldwell was taken to the back of the ward – past all of the rooms with expecting mothers – to have the stillbirth.

“I’m constantly grieving, and I’m constantly grieving for other women,” she added.

Since her experience, Mrs Caldwell’s campaign caught the eye both locally, in Lanarkshire, and at a national level.

NHS Lanarkshire’s University Hospital Wishaw – formerly known as Wishaw General – became the first in Scotland to open a bereavement suite last year.

The unit allows women to deliver stillborn babies in a separate location to labour wards. The rooms have a separate entrance, a dedicated midwife and are set away from a clinical environment.

Lerwick’s Gilbert Bain Hospital followed suit, opening the Northern Star suite a few months later.

Ahead of the 2021 Scottish election, representatives from the Scottish National Party (SNP) had become sympathetic to Mrs Caldwell’s campaign – even including a promise in their manifesto.

The SNP pledged to improve women’s healthcare in a number of ways but had stated that if elected it would “establish a dignified, compassionate miscarriage service,” and ensure “maternity departments have dedicated facilities for women who are experiencing unexpected pregnancy complications.”

Since being elected, that pledge has not been kept, with less than two years to go before another polling day.

Now, Mrs Caldwell has decided to enlist people from across Scotland to join in her fight for the compassion and dignity that women deserve.

“Now, I’m angry,” she said. “It’s something we need to get done for females.”

She has written templates of letters to send to elected representatives to urge them to support her campaign.

Mrs Caldwell added: “I can only do so much.”

To read more pick up a copy of The Shetland Times.

Woman found guilty of possessing drugs

A 47-year-old woman has been fined £520 for the possession of cocaine.

Laureen Johnston, of Upper Sound, Lerwick, had denied two charges of possessing of controlled drugs when she went on trial at Lerwick Sheriff Court yesterday (Thursday), but was found guilty by the Sheriff.

Lerwick Sheriff Court heard that Johnston had been stopped twice in her car by officers in a matter of days due to intelligence they had received about her activities.

When first stopped in Lerwick on 11th November 2023 officers found a silver container which, after inspection, concealed five wraps of cocaine worth more than £400.

The court heard how Johnston had told police at the time “It wasn’t mine”.

During questioning on the stand, Johnston said: “Someone had left it in the car.”

She said a passenger had noticed the container rolling about on the car floor and passed it to her. It was then placed in the driver’s side door pocket, she said.

Johnston also told the court that the container could have belonged to a “friend of a friend” who she had taken to hospital. The passenger had a hold-all with him at the time, she said.

She said she was unaware what was in the container until she was at the police station.

Nine days later she was stopped again.

This time, two tablets of Bromazolam – a Class C sedative – were found in her car’s central console.

Procurator fiscal Duncan MacKenzie told the court that police officers found them rather easily and they were in plain view.

However, Johnston said she was had been unaware of their existence.

Johnston told Mr MacKenzie that she had reason to believe someone was out to get her.

When asked to explain, Johnston told the court that a police officer had asked who she had “upset this time” when she was placed under arrest.

Sheriff Ian Cruickshank reviewed the evidence and the testimony. He said it was agreed by all parties that Johnstone was driving the car when it was stopped by police.

While he heard evidence from Johnston claiming that a third party could perhaps have been trying to get her, the sheriff said the evidence proved that she was guilty for possession of both drugs.

Johnston was ordered to pay a £500 fine plus a £20 victim surcharge for the possession of cocaine. She was admonished for possessing Bromazolam.

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