Engelse Tekst

Browns' baby girl dies after 10 days

BY GILLIAN HARRIS, SCOTLAND CORRESPONDENT

Gordon and Sarah Brown’s 10-day-old daughter Jennifer Jane died in their arms last night, three days after suffering a brain haemorrhage.
The Chancellor and his wife have been at their daughter’s side throughout her treatment at Edinburgh’s Royal Infirmary. Hundreds of messages of support and good wishes had arrived at the hospital. The couple left through a side entrance in the back of a car half an hour before the death was announced. They were believed to be returning to their home in North Queensferry, Fife. Tony Blair, who is visiting Afghanistan, spoke of his sadness for the Browns. They would have made “wonderful parents”, he said. Iain Duncan Smith, the Conservative leader, said that his thoughts and prayers were with the couple at this “devastating” time.
Jennifer Jane Brown, who was born seven weeks early on December 28, had been transferred to the neo-natal unit at the Simpson Memorial Maternity Pavilion, at Edinburgh’s Royal Infirmary, on Friday. The specialist unit is one of the most technologically advanced in the United Kingdom. The hospital spokesman said: “At 5.20 pm today, Jennifer Jane died peacefully in her parents’ arms.” She had weighed only 2lb 4oz when she was born by emergency Cesarean section after an ultrasound scan showed that she was not growing in the womb and had developed an irregular heartbeat. After her birth doctors said that her prognosis was good. She recovered from a bout of jaundice, managed to breathe independently and put on some weight. With her daughter apparently gaining strength, Mrs Brown, 37, was discharged from Forth Park Maternity Hospital in Kirkcaldy, Fife, last Thursday. Mrs Brown, a public relations consultant, had looked anxious as she left the hospital with the Chancellor, 50. The baby’s condition deteriorated the following day and she was taken by ambulance from Forth Park to the neo-natal unit in Edinburgh. A statement issued on Sunday confirmed that she had suffered a brain hemorrhage. The Browns arrived at the hospital in the ambulance with Jennifer. They spent three nights in one of two private rooms set aside for the parents of critically ill children. They were visited by close relatives including Mrs Brown’s mother, Pauline, and stepfather, Patrick Vaughan, and Mr Brown’s brother, John, who was best man at the couple’s wedding in August 2000. The baby was baptised on Sunday in a brief Church of Scotland ceremony with her parents and grandparents by her bedside. Experts had said that a brain hemorrhage in a baby as small as Jennifer could prove fatal and if she had survived she could have been severely handicapped. In Bagram, Mr Blair said: “I feel so desperately sorry for Gordon and Sarah. I know how much Gordon was looking forward to being a father. I know how proud they both were of Jennifer Jane and I know what wonderful parents they would have been to her.” In a faltering voice he added: “I am afraid there is very little that anyone can say of comfort at such a time, but I hope it is of some comfort to them that I know everyone in our country will be thinking of them at this time and keeping them in their prayers.” Mr Duncan Smith said: “The loss of a child is the most devastating blow any family can suffer. Our thoughts go out to Sarah and Gordon Brown in their grief for baby Jennifer. Our thoughts and prayers are with them.” David McLetchie, leader of the Scottish Conservatives, said: “It was with great sadness that we learned of the death of baby Jennifer. Our thoughts are with Gordon and Sarah. It is every parent’s nightmare to lose a precious child, to experience such a tragedy, and the full glare of the media can only add to the agony.” Nigel Griffiths, a minister at the Department of Trade and Industry and a close friend of Mr Brown’s, said: “This is a terrible tragedy and all Gordon and Sarah’s friends are deeply upset. They are in our thoughts and prayers.” A spokeswoman for the Scottish Labour Party said: “We are all devastated by this news and like everyone in Scotland our thoughts are with Gordon and Sarah.” John Swinney, the Scottish National Party leader, said: “This is terribly sad news for Gordon and Sarah Brown and the family. They will have had such a short time with their daughter and none of us will truly understand the depth of their loss.” Charles Kennedy, the Liberal Democrat leader, said: “Our hearts go out to Gordon and Sarah Brown at this very sad time for them. I send them my deepest condolences and we must all now respect their privacy.” Jim Wallace, the leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats and the Deputy First Minister, said: “On behalf of my colleagues I wish to express my heartfelt sympathy to the Brown family at this difficult time. Everyone in Scotland will share in this terrible sadness.”

The neo-natal unit is Scotland’s biggest centre for premature babies and cares for up to 600 infants a year. It is at the top of a labyrinthine building, separate from the noisy maternity wards on the second and third floors, and is reached by an old-fashioned lift or a grand spiral staircase. The unit is run by Professor Neil McIntosh, who is one of the country’s leading experts in the care of premature babies, and boasts some of the most technologically advanced baby monitoring equipment in any British hospital. There are 45 cots — 24 for special care babies, eight high dependency cots and 12 set aside for babies requiring intensive care treatment. Jennifer was an intensive care cot in a small, quiet room filled with monitoring equipment. Parents are encouraged to spend as much time as they want watching over their baby. Staff are on hand to answer any questions they might have about their child’s health and bereavement counsellors and two hospital chaplains are available to talk to any parents who need them.