A first-time mother who was sent home  by doctors for an entire week because they didn't believe her waters had broken suffered infections and had to be placed on life support for three days following the horror birth. Brittany Spriggs was put in a coma at Gold Coast University Hospital after being rushed into four different surgeries due to complications during her daughter's birth on January 31. Details of her horrific story came as the hospital's chief executive Ron Calvert ordered an independent review into the high mortality rate and other issues after several complaints were made about the birthing unit. Brittany Spriggs had four surgeries and was placed on life support after she started haemorrhaging due to complications during the birth at Gold Coast University Hospital on January 31 . While a recent draft review into maternity services at the hospital confirmed the unit was safe based on a range of patient measures, Ms Spriggs said her experience left her heartbroken and wanting answers. Ms Spriggs, who was in intensive care for the first few days of her daughter Jasmine's life, says she was initially sent home from the Gold Coast hospital despite fearing her waters had broken. 'I woke up at 39 weeks to a pool of water in the bed. I went back to sleep thinking it was my waters breaking. I went to the hospital that morning but they told me to go home because it was just a watery discharge,' she said. 'I really should have trusted my instincts because I went to my midwife appointment at 40 weeks and she told me I was a centimetre dilated.' Ms Spriggs was in intensive care at Gold Coast University Hospital for three days and wasn't awake for the first few days of her daughter Jasmine's life . While Ms Spriggs had to be induced, everything was going smoothly until her baby's heart rate  dropped. 'They went in to break my waters but they’d already broken at 39 weeks... So there was infection there and issues around that. Ms Spriggs, who was in intensive care for the first few days of her daughter Jasmine's life, says she was initially sent home from the Gold Coast hospital despite fearing her waters had broken . 'I was put under when we got to theatre because the epidural was only working on one side and they didn't have time to fix it.' Doctors performed an emergency caesarean and Ms Spriggs had just started to come around when she started haemorrhaging and had to go back to theatre. 'I said to the surgeon: 'Please don't let me die'. I don't remember anything until I woke up in intensive care three days later.' Ms Spriggs had to have four surgeries to stop her haemorrhaging and doctors still haven't been able to tell her how it happened. She believes an artery may have been cut during her caesarean but doctors haven't confirmed that. 'My husband was gowned up but I had to be put under so he couldn't come in. He had no idea what was happening. He was pacing up and down the hallway for hours,' she said. 'The surgeon came out seven or eight hours later saying I was on life support and our daughter was in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit).' Her family took heartbreaking pictures of Jasmine lying on her mother's chest while she was still in a coma with tubes coming out of her body. 'It's actually quite a big blur... I don't remember the first moment I saw or held Jasmine,' she said. 'For the whole nine months I was imagining her being born, but both my husband (Jacob) and I didn't get to experience that.' Ms Spriggs says holding her daughter Jasmine for the first time was a blur because she was slowly being released out of a coma . The first-time mother was brought out of her coma after three days and spent several more in the maternity ward before she discharged herself . Ms Spriggs says doctors told her the birthing horror was an isolated case and it had never happened in the years they had been practising. 'I didn't search for answers at first because I thought it had just happened to us. Now I'm hearing more stories about (complications) there and now I'm thinking why is this happening so much,' she said. A Gold Coast Health spokesperson said it was well within expectation that difficult and complicated births take place. 'Over a hundred difficult cases occur annually and this is one such example,' the spokesperson said. 'Our dedicated maternity team delivered over 4,300 babies in the last year and the number of families choosing Gold Coast University Hospital is increasing at a rate of over 15 per cent annually. 'When a woman experiences difficulties due to childbirth it can cause concern and distress to staff involved as well as those people directly affected. 'All complicated births are reviewed and discussed as part of an ongoing commitment to service. Where necessary such cases are followed up with further investigation in order to determine if there are lessons to be learned in future cases.' Janie Lerch says she was left traumatised after giving birth at the hospital when a chunk of skin was taken from daughter Layla's head (above) as the midwife tried to break her waters . Her now nine-month-old daughter Layla still has a scar from where the wound healed . Janie Lerch says she was left traumatised after giving birth at the hospital when of chunk a skin was taken from her newborn's head as the midwife tried to break her waters. Her now nine-month-old daughter Layla still has a scar from where the wound healed. 'I didn't expect everything to be picture perfect, but I didn't think it was going to be like that,' Ms Lerch said. 'I'd already been in labour for 24 hours when the nurse told me to lay down so she could break my waters. She tried to do it but it was causing me excruciating pain. I was screaming and crying it was that bad.' Ms Lerch went in for an emergency caesarean hours later and woke to find her newborn daughter had a cut on her scalp. 'Her dad showed me the cut on her head. I was quite bewildered. It's not like an incision from the caesarian - it was like a wound,' she said. Ms Lerch claims nurses did little to help her or her daughter. 'They’re meant to be there to care for you, but I don’t believe they cared for us,' she said. Any patient who wishes to discuss the care they have received is encouraged to contact the Patient Liaison Service at Gold Coast University Hospital on 07 5687 2048 or at gcpls@health.qld.gov.au.
Brittany Spriggs was on life support after daughter's birth on January 31 . She was in intensive care at Gold Coast University Hospital for three days . Mum started haemorrhaging after caesarean and had four surgeries . She was initially sent home from hospital for a week despite her waters already breaking . It comes as hospital's chief executive ordered an independent review into birthing unit following a number of complaints .