Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Mum whose son died in Ninewells tragedy shares poignant pictures of baby Steven on 10th anniversary

Laura Gallazzi's son Steven was decapitated during delivery in March 2014.

Ten years on from baby decapitated at birth at Ninewells Hospital
Laura Gallazzi and a picture of her baby son Steven. Image: Remember My Baby/Laura Gallazzi/Mhairi Edwards/DC Thomson

A Dundee mum whose baby was decapitated during a botched delivery has taken the “difficult and heartbreaking” decision to share photographs of her son on the 10th anniversary of his death.

Laura Gallazzi says she has decided to share pictures taken of baby Steven following his death as she continues to campaign for her son to be given a legal identity.

Laura lost Steven while giving birth at Ninewells Hospital in March 2014.

A consultant gynaecologist later faced a hearing over her involvement in the tragedy but avoided being struck off.

‘I’m not ashamed to show the world my gorgeous baby’

In a post on her Facebook campaign page, Laura, 40, wrote: “I have decided to show the world my gorgeous baby boy because I am not ashamed of him.

“I am ashamed of the treatment (we) have had to endure for the last decade.”

Speaking to The Courier, Laura – who has given permission for the photos to be published – said: “Sharing these pictures isn’t something I have done lightly.

“It has been heartbreaking and difficult for me to share these pictures of Steven.

decapitated baby 10 year anniversary
Laura at a memorial tree for Steven. Image: Mhairi Edwards/DC Thomson

“But it’s 10 years since he was decapitated during delivery and still I don’t feel anyone is listening to what I have to say.

“I have never shared these pictures before because they are very special to me and until now I have wanted to keep them private.

“The pictures are all I have left of my son but I really hope by sharing them now I can make a difference.”

Laura says the photographs were made possible by the Remember My Baby charity.

decapitated baby 10 year anniversary
Baby Steven. Image: Remember My Baby/Laura Gallazzi

She said: “I was in a room in Ninewells with Steven and agreed I would like to have pictures to remember him by.

“He was so badly damaged at birth by Dr Vaishnavy Laxman’s error of judgement, which resulted in him being decapitated, that the pictures had to be very carefully done.

“A photographer from the charity took Steven to another room to take them and I was so happy with the results, but if it wasn’t for that, I wouldn’t have pictures of him I could look at or that I could show anyone else.

“They show Steven to be a fully formed baby – how can he not have legal status?”

‘Every baby deserves to be classed as a person’

Laura has been campaigning since Steven’s death for every baby over 24 weeks to be given a legal status – which would allow parents to pursue other proceedings over their child’s death.

Laura said: “If I had been given a C-section, my son could have taken a breath.

“However, due to being decapitated, it was made impossible.

“Every baby deserves to be classed as a person with a legal persona and therefore entitled to a thorough legal investigation into their death to ensure no criminal acts have taken place.

“If anyone with the powers that be reads this, I urge them to get in touch and don’t be scared.

“I will hold your hand and teach you how to be brave like I have had to be for the last 10 years.”

Conversation