British expat mother, 34, died in a hospital on Spain’s Costa del Sol ‘after she was refused a C-section’: Family demand answers from Spanish authorities after ‘crucial’ documents were ‘withheld’

A BRITISH expat died while giving birth on the Costa del Sol after being refused a C-section at hospital, it has emerged. 

Kelsey Brown, 34, a hairdresser from Liverpool, was rushed to Ceram Hospital in Marbella on July 20, 2021, a coroner’s court in the UK heard.

Tragically, a scan revealed that her baby had died, before doctors allegedly told her she could not have a C-section or an epidural and would have to give birth naturally. 

At this stage, Kelsey was bleeding heavily and was in “horrendous pain”, however blood supplies did not arrive until more than five-and-a-half hours later, the court was told. 

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Andre Rebello, senior coroner for Liverpool and Wirral, said: “Kelsey was advised she could not have a caesarean and she could not have an epidural, and would have to give birth naturally.” Kelsey began delivering the baby at 1.30pm. 

Doctors used forceps to deliver the boy, named Daniel, who was found with his umbilical cord wrapped around his chest, stopping him from feeding. 

According to the inquest, the hospital had no supplies of blood on-site. 

A delivery is said to have arrived at 6.45pm, but just half an hour later, at 7.15pm, Kelsey was pronounced dead. 

Kelsey’s mother, Maria Brown, told the BBC that she was a “loving mum” to her surviving child, who was aged five when the tragedy occurred. 

The family are now demanding answers from the Spanish authorities, who did not provide crucial medical documents to the Liverpool coroner. 

Mr Rebello told the court that this impeded his ability to investigate the death, forcing him to declare an open conclusion due to lack of evidence. 

The coroner told Kelsey’s parents: “Hopefully the Spanish authorities will make efforts to bring justice to what occurred, they will be looking to see if there were opportunities to do something meaningful for a different outcome.”

Mr Rebello previously told the court that the results of a post-mortem in Spain had been “withheld”, as had medical notes from Ceram Hospital. 

According to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, there could be a long wait for the Spanish investigation to bear fruit. 

Kelsey’s mother told the BBC: “Kelsey was a loving mum, she has left her five-year-old son behind. She was very healthy, she didn’t drink or smoke, Kelsey really looked after herself.

“She was a great daughter, a great sister and a great mum.”

The family are not commenting further until the Spanish authorities have completed their investigation.