‘Absolutely horrendous’: woman left incontinent after giving birth blames Mackay Base hospital failures

Three years ago, Samantha Sheppard checked into Mackay Base hospital to have her first child. What followed, she said, was an ordeal she believes could have killed her baby, Bobby, and that has left her unable to control some of her basic bodily functions.

"It was absolutely horrendous. It was so life changing. I live with a pad on every day. I weigh myself every day. I've actually peed myself countless times because I can't control it," she said.

"Everyone asks when are you having another baby? And I think, I don't even want to have another baby."

Sheppard is considering joining a growing number of women in a class action lawsuit against the hospital after a state inquiry found "systemic failures" within the hospital's obstetrics and gynaecology unit.

Sheppard was set to have an induced labour at the hospital after a glucose test confirmed she had gestational diabetes, which can potentially complicate childbirth.

She said she had to insist "multiple times" that her tests be reanalysed after receiving a "borderline" diagnosis that was never explained or elaborated on.

After arriving at the hospital she felt belittled when she attempted to warn the hospital that something was "not quite right".