A mum has revealed the horrifying ordeal she faced after realising there was a swab lodged and “rotting” inside her body.
After giving birth, Aisha McCracken, 29, was eager to get home and spend time with her newborn, Sophie.
While in the hospital, the first-time mum noticed an “extreme offensive odour” coming from her lower body, coupled with “excruciating” pain and unusual bleeding.
She raised her concerns to nurses at Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, but claims they “dismissed” her.
And so, Aisha went home.
But the smell and pain only worsened.
That’s when the new mum decided to check in the mirror and was left “horrified” by what she saw.
“I was made to feel like a paranoid first-time mum,” the childcare worker, from Glasgow, told Need To Know.
“I felt sick, scared and let down.
“At first, I thought it was a huge blood clot or a piece of placenta that was left – then I saw the swab.
“Two days after giving birth, I had suffered excruciating pain when sitting down, standing up and walking.
“And there was such an offensive odour coming from me, too.
“It was totally rotten and vulgar.
“The scent will haunt me forever.
“On day four, I started to feel really unwell and quite dizzy.
“But when I told the nurses, it seemed like they couldn’t be bothered and acted like I was dramatising the pain.
“I was given two basic checks, which mostly consisted of checking my stitches rather than internally.
“I believed them when they said everything looked okay.”
Aisha and her husband, David, 31, were “over the moon” when getting a positive test result.
While the pregnancy was relatively normal, little Sophie arrived just over a month early.
The birth in June 2024 was quick and performed via a forceps delivery procedure with an episiotomy cut.
But the newborn had signs of infection – she was jaundiced and unable to regulate her body temperature – and had to stay in for nine days.
Meanwhile, her mum was struggling with her own symptoms at home.
On day eight, after giving birth, Aisha realised the true horror of her situation while at home.
She said: “I was showering up to four times a day and changing my pad every half hour due to the smell.
“Even after all of this, you could still smell it through my clothes – even David noticed it.
“It was horrific.
“When it had been eight days since giving birth, I wanted to check my stitches.
“I thought they may have burst.
“As soon as I noticed the foreign object, I called the maternity triage and described the look of it.
“I was asked to go in and be checked over… and this is when they told me what it was.
“I had already been showing signs of infection and if this was left any longer, there’s a chance it could’ve developed into sepsis or toxic shock syndrome.
“And I would no longer be here.”
Aisha claims she hasn’t been given a reason for why the swab was missed and left in her body.
She alleges the swab count was signed by two people and that all items were counted in and out.
The mum is receiving therapy and counselling due to the traumatic ordeal, and says that it’s made the first few months of her daughter’s life “very unhappy”.
She added: “I have no idea how this happened and still have no answers, even though I’ve demanded them.
“It’s had a huge toll on my mental health.
“The situation has stripped away my hopes of future children as I can’t physically or mentally put myself through that again.
“I was a very unhappy, angry and sad person to be around for a long time after the birth.
“It made my relationship with Sophie difficult too, as I found it harder to bond with her due to being so depressed.
“I now have no faith or trust within certain services of the NHS.
“I feel disregarded, disrespected and utterly heartbroken.
“Stricter checks to count swabs in and out need to happen – and having a third person check that everything is correct.
“Most importantly, to be listened to when new mums raise concerns.
“I understand mistakes happen, it’s human error.
“But I could have died, leaving my baby without a mum.
“I really hope the NHS learns from this and doesn’t put any other women through what horrors I’ve had to endure.”
Jam Press contacted Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital for comment, along with the NHS for Greater Glasgow and Clyde.
Dr Claire Harrow, deputy medical director for acute services at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, said: “We would like to apologise unreservedly to Mrs McCracken for the distress she has suffered.
“The circumstances of this case are the subject of a detailed investigation, and we are currently implementing a new system to prevent such incidents happening again.
“This includes a new reporting tool in all birth rooms, a new standard operating procedure and enhanced training for all staff.”
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