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A stillborn baby's body went missing for five days before it was found in a hospital fridge.
After 22 weeks of pregnancy Marie Dowding gave birth to her stillborn son, Riley, at Hawke's Bay Hospital on November 15. His foot was no bigger than a thumbnail.
When the body had been taken away Mrs Dowding was told it would be taken the next day on a nurse's lap to Wellington for an autopsy, and would be back in Hastings on Friday.
But Friday passed, and then the weekend, until on Monday they received a call from the undertaker.
He had been meant to collect Riley's body for cremation but said he was getting the runaround from the hospital, Mrs Dowding said.
So she got on the phone and demanded to know where her son's body was.
"The lady rang back and said 'I don't want to tell you this but we can't find your baby'," Mrs Dowding said.
"I was in shock. They had told me they were going to take care of my precious little baby."
That's when her mother, Christine Ballingall, took over. She rang the Wellington morgue to ask if they had seen the body and was told to "leave it to them".
Mrs Dowding then received a call from Hawke's Bay Hospital telling her Riley's body had been found in a fridge and had been immediately sent to Wellington.
Hawke's Bay District Health Board has apologised to the family and has launched an investigation.
Acting CEO Win Bennett has admitted the usual process for managing a stillbirth had not been followed.
"I extend my sincere apologies to Mr and Mrs Dowding for the distress this has caused," Mr Bennett said.
Mr Bennett said the hospital's maternity manager would meet the family to discuss findings once the investigation was complete.
"We need to change the way we do things to avoid this happening in the future," Mr Bennett said.
- HAWKE'S BAY TODAY
