PETRIFIED mothers are suffering "mental cruelty" giving birth because of shortages, it has been claimed.

Fuming grandmother Lynda Simkin has lashed out after her daughter's horrific four-day ordeal at Ronkswood Hospital, Worcester.

And she claims many other mothers are suffering because of a lack of special baby care units and beds.

Mrs Simkin's daughter Mishka Pearson was induced and stopped four times over a weekend before giving birth.

And the grandmother fears other mothers are suffering unnecessarily.

She said: "It's frightening enough giving birth without having to go through this. My daughter has been traumatised by the whole experience.

"These mothers are receiving the worst form of abuse for people in a very vulnerable position - mental cruelty.

"Mishka was not the only one. There were distressed women breaking down in tears because their labour was being started and stopped."

Mishka was admitted at Ronkswood on Thursday, August 30, at 8am for induction of labour due to pregnancy complications.

However, her induction was held up the following day because no special care baby units were free.

During the day she was told she would be transferred to Redditch and Wolverhampton but neither move went through.

On the Saturday, with increasing pain and veins in her leg swelling, her labour was re-started and stopped once again.

By Sunday doctors gave her a blood-thinning injection as blood was congealing in her leg and her labour was recommenced.

Mrs Simkin, of Birchfield Road, drove more than 100 miles to the hospital and back on three journeys while her daughter's waters were broken before the induction was stopped.

Early Monday morning she gave birth to baby boy Aurin.

Mrs Simkin said: "Thanks to the poor staff who are working in intolerable conditions my grandson was born safely.

"However, I fear for the future and can't see the situation improving when the new Worcester hospital opens."

The concerned grandmother has questioned why the empty maternity unit at Kidderminster could not be used.

However, Wyre Forest MP Dr Richard Taylor said it was not medically feasible to have a consultant-led unit because the catchment area does not have the required 1,500 births a year.

He said: "It is absolutely horrendous what this poor woman has been through.

"It emphasises the problem of the shortage of special care baby units throughout the country.

"However, one has to ask if there were any clinical or management faults in this case."

Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust confirmed inductions were stopped because the special care baby unit was busy.

A spokeswoman said: "Staff in the maternity unit endeavoured to transfer Mrs Pearson to another unit in the area but this was not possible because they were also busy and Mrs Pearson was not an emergency."

She added: "An induction is intended to be continued without interruption to help the delivery. However, the safety and welfare of the mother and baby is always of paramount importance.

"In order to achieve this it was necessary to defer the induction process on this occasion.

"All medical details were taken into consideration in arriving at the decision."