Five months after the stillbirth of her son, Clarenville mother Jenelle Dalton is still waiting for accountability from the NLHS, after the meeting arranged to discuss her concerns has been postponed twicePublished Nov 18, 2025Last updated 11 minutes ago7 minute readJenelle Dalton and Dereck Newell Jr, spending time with their stillborn son, Isiah James. Contributed by Alicia Barrett, NArticle contentIn May 2025, Clarenville resident Jenelle Dalton delivered her first child, Isaiah James Newell, stillborn at 29 weeks.THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY.Subscribe now to access this story and more:Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsSUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES.Subscribe or sign in to your account to continue your reading experience.Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsRegister to unlock more articles.Create an account or sign in to continue your reading experience.Access additional stories every monthShare your thoughts and join the conversation in our commenting communityGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorArticle content“It will haunt me for the rest of my life. I feel so helpless that I couldn’t help or protect him,” she said.Article contentArticle contentDalton later discovered that an urgent bloodwork result from weeks earlier had been marked as “abnormal,” but that was never communicated to her.Article contentArticle content“I strongly feel that I should have been sent for specialized care, given my complications throughout my pregnancy, and especially with a flagged bloodwork report,” Dalton said.Article contentShe has since been calling for accountability from Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services (NLHS), claiming a critical delay in care may have contributed to her baby’s death.Article content On April 24, 2025, Jenelle Dalton and Dereck Newell Jr. had a gender reveal party, one month before they found out their baby no longer had a heartbeat. Apple Photos Clean UpArticle contentCONCERNS OVER CAREArticle contentAfter a phone conversation between Dalton and a representative from the health authority, an in-person meeting in Clarenville was arranged to address her concerns and answer questions about her prenatal care.Article contentSeveral senior staff from the health authority were expected to attend the meeting, along with Dalton, her mother and her partner’s mother.Article contentHer partner, Dereck Newell Jr, had planned to attend as well, but work commitments have prevented him from joining after the meeting was rescheduled twice.Article contentArticle content“Since I obtained my full prenatal medical record, there are many things I need clarification on,” she said.Article contentArticle contentDalton said she specifically asked for the doctors involved in her pregnancy to be present at the meeting.Article content“I also asked for the doctors who shared the clinic to be in attendance,” she said.Article content“I was told that in situations like this, the doctors involved would not be in attendance due to ‘confrontation,’ and that another medical representative has spoken with them. I was told he can answer my questions that I have for them.”Article contentHer main concern, Dalton said, is understanding where her urgent bloodwork report was during the month her baby was struggling to live.Article content“I want to know how this happened in 2025, with today’s technology,” she said.Article contentShe said she was told at the time that her bloodwork was “all good,” but later discovered that the “abnormal” report, sent from a specialist lab in St. John’s, had been left unattended, saying that she believes “it sat somewhere at the hospital.”Article content‘HURTFUL’ POSTPONEMENTArticle contentDalton contacted NLHS client relations on Oct. 27 to confirm that the scheduled meeting for Oct. 28 was going ahead after she hadn’t received any updates.Article contentShortly after, Dalton received a phone call informing her that one of the key medical representatives would not be attending in person, but could join by phone or video.Article content“I said I would much rather an in-person conversation as originally planned, and my mother, who is also hard of hearing, would have a better chance of understanding the conversation in person,” she said.Article contentThe client relations representative agreed, Dalton said, that an in-person meeting would be more productive.Article contentDalton described having the meeting postponed as “hurtful.”Article content“It felt very hurtful to be brushed off yet again, and even in death, Isaiah is being treated like he does not matter. But I am here to let the health-care system know that his life did matter, and I am not accepting this,” she said.Article contentArticle content Isaiah’s family held a church service before laying him to rest on June 4, 2025. CONTRIBUTEDArticle contentShe added that having to reach out herself to confirm the meeting was frustrating.Article content“I should not have to reach out to see if a meeting — that they supposedly arranged — is going ahead. To only be told at the last minute that the attendees didn’t prioritize or make room in their schedule to speak with me, a grieving mother, is extremely upsetting,” Dalton said.Article content“I selected Oct. 28 at 2 p.m. (out of the option dates and times offered), and then suddenly, 24 hours before, I was told the medical representative would not be there in person.”Article contentGAPS IN CAREArticle contentDalton said the medical representative now scheduled to meet with her was not involved in her prenatal care.Article contentArticle content“I am not undermining his abilities at all, but I am not sure how he is going to explain the system failure that occurred here,” she said.Article contentHer concerns focus on the care provided by the physicians she saw during her pregnancy.Article contentShe said one physician she saw in the clinic told her that her bloodwork was “all good,” despite later learning that it had been flagged as abnormal.Article contentShe added that her ultrasound showed scattered placental lakes, areas of maternal blood pooling, which were not communicated to her, despite her history of a placental abruption earlier in pregnancy.Article content“My bloodwork and my anatomy scan were showing warning signs which were ultimately ignored,” she said.Article content Jenelle Dalton and Dereck Newell Jr. only had a few hours to spend with their stillborn son before he was taken away for an autopsy. Contributed by Alicia Barrett, NArticle contentDalton says another physician’s signature appears on the abnormal lab report, despite that doctor never having met her.Article contentDalton said she would have expected communication between the doctors to ensure the results were properly relayed and that appropriate follow-up care was arranged, such as additional scans, referrals, or prescriptions.Article content“A doctor should never be allowed to sign off on an urgent report and attach their name to something so critical if they’re unsure of what was communicated in clinic and if the report itself is not in their name,” she said, adding that she believes it impacted her health care.Article contentDalton says she was told during a phone conversation with a senior health official that it is not uncommon in rural communities for doctors to sign off on reports that are not in their name, for example, if another doctor is away.Article content“Personally, I think this is not acceptable. If a doctor is signing off on an urgent lab report, they should absolutely be required to talk to the patient directly, to ensure the information was relayed. Which I was not. I was left in the dark about my own health and not able to make informed choices for my son,” she said.Article contentDespite her previous placental complications, she added, no additional testing was requested to assess blood flow, and her records indicate that the anatomy scan did not record a heartbeat.Article contentArticle contentWhen she went to the hospital later with reduced fetal movements, she was reassured the heartbeat was strong and sent home without further testing, again without being informed of her flagged bloodwork.Article contentAccording to Dalton, when Isaiah died, the information about her bloodwork results were “not forthcoming.”Article contentIt took her mother-in-law asking questions for the staff to acknowledge that a second component of the bloodwork had been seen only on May 22, even though the original report and a flowchart had been sent April 24 and 25, she said.Article content“The physician said it was a timing issue, and unfortunately, it was too late. She even went on to say it would have taken a week to get me sent into St. John’s for a uterine artery Doppler, even if she had seen the lab report sooner, but again it was too late,” Dalton said her doctor told her.Article contentUltimately, she wants answers.Article contentArticle content“I would have never uncovered the truth about the dates unless I went digging through my health-care records myself, which I did,” she said.Article contentTWO POSTPONEMENTSArticle contentDalton said the meeting has been postponed twice so far — a Nov. 5 meeting was also cancelled by NLHS after she emailed to confirm due to scheduling conflicts and the unavailability of a boardroom.Article contentAfter voicing her frustration, Dalton was told the meeting is now rescheduled for Nov. 20 at 9:30 a.m. in Clarenville, “so that key people, who can address my concerns, can attend in person,” she said.Article contentFor her, Dalton said accountability would mean a sincere apology and acknowledgement that the standard duty of care was not met, both during her pregnancy and in the way the situation was handled afterwards.Article content“I am severely traumatized from not only losing my first and only baby, and finding out after the fact that we had flagged bloodwork, even after I reached out for help about reduced movements and was never told, but also giving birth without a doctor present was a nightmare, too. It sincerely feels like nobody cared about us,” she said.Article content Isaiah James was born on May 23, when Jenelle Dalton was induced. CONTRIBUTEDArticle content‘THIS WAS THE DEATH OF MY SON’Article contentSince sharing her story publicly, Dalton said she has received significant support from the public, with many expressing concerns about what she described as a “deplorable” health-care system.Article content“It’s simply not good enough. A healthy baby should not have to die because of an unorganized hospital,” she said.Article contentDalton said she has filed complaints with the health authority and is preparing formal complaints with the College of Physicians and Surgeons NL, but has held off until she can have her rescheduled meeting.Article contentShe also plans to write to provincial officials to highlight the systemic issues she says continue to affect patients.Article contentAs she prepares for the rescheduled meeting, Dalton said she wants health-care officials to understand the significance of her loss.Article content“My baby mattered. This was not simply a ‘fetal demise.’ This was the death of my son. He is so loved, and is so missed,” she said.Article contentArticle contentShe said there were warning signs throughout her pregnancy that were not acted upon, and she hopes the hospital undergoes a review of her care to determine accountability.Article contentNLHS RESPONSEArticle contentA spokesperson for Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services said the authority extends its condolences to the family involved, describing the loss of a child as “truly tragic.”Article contentThe statement noted that, due to privacy rules, NLHS cannot discuss specific patient details but emphasized that “delivering high-quality health care is our priority, and we strive to do that every day, by putting patients first.”Article content“When patients feel that we have fallen short of this goal, there are processes for formal complaints to be submitted. We take all feedback seriously that will help us improve health-care delivery to Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.”Article content
My baby mattered: NL mom still awaiting answers from NLHS after son’s stillbirth
