Parents are 'scarred' by baby death

Johanne Rees, the mother of baby Arun, said she believed she would have had better care if she had given birth in her partner's home country of India.

And she said she had still not been reassured by the hospital which treated her that lessons had been learned from the tragedy.

Midwives at the University Hospital of Wales (UHW), Cardiff, failed to spot Ms Rees's unborn child was in distress. One doctor even rejected the idea that she had gone into labour, saying she simply needed the toilet.

Baby Arun was born prematurely in November 2005 having suffered fatal brain damage.

Ms Rees said she and her partner, Krishna Govekar, were not told the extent of the damage until five days later. They took the decision to turn off Arun's life-support when he was 10 days old.

Ms Rees, of Penarth, said: "The tragedy is the other option was to have the baby in India, a Third World country where Krishna's sister went through a similar experience of a poorly child at 33 weeks.

"He got the best care and is now running around, which is a constant reminder of what we are missing."

Katie Norton, director of primary, community and mental health services at Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, said: "I want to apologise again unreservedly on behalf of Cardiff and Vale University Health Board for the distress that Ms Rees and Mr Govekar have experienced and offer our sincere condolences to them.

"This was an exceptional and difficult case and we have worked with the staff to learn lessons."