According to sources, Anna Martin's baby daughter Genevieve was left permanently disabled after contracting chickenpox during pregnancy. The incident occurred in November 2022 when Genevieve was born with congenital varicella syndrome. She was born with longitudinal limb deficiency and fibular hemimelia, meaning she has a shortened right leg and three toes on her smaller foot. Anna Martin and her fiancé Iain Lewis decided to amputate Genevieve's right foot when she was 14 months old. Genevieve, now three, faces a significant risk of learning difficulties, secondary vision and hearing loss, and limb deformities.
Anna Martin alleges doctors dismissed her chickenpox symptoms as 'just a virus'. She attended her GP surgery and A&E five times with chickenpox symptoms during pregnancy. Anna Martin claims her worries were continually brushed aside and she never received treatment for chickenpox. At five weeks into her pregnancy, Anna Martin's daughter Josephine returned from her childminder with chickenpox. Anna Martin quickly developed severe illness with fever and flu-like symptoms after exposure to chickenpox. She visited her GP surgery explaining she had been exposed to chickenpox but was told it was 'just a virus' and no test was provided.
Anna Martin developed a serious complication from chickenpox during pregnancy. She has initiated legal proceedings against Chesterfield Royal Hospital and her GP practice. Anna Martin is urging the NHS to safeguard pregnant women. She stated, 'What should have been a normal, joyful pregnancy became a nightmare because of a preventable failure in the system.' Anna Martin added, 'We were let down by the NHS, by my GP surgery and by Chesterfield Royal Hospital.' She further said, 'Most of all, we were let down by a policy that values assumption over simple testing - a policy that continues to put pregnant women and their babies at risk.'
In her account, Anna Martin explained, 'I went to my GP and was asked whether I'd had chickenpox as a child. I explained that I wasn't sure; my mum thought I probably had, but there was no certainty. I was told it was likely a virus and sent home.' She continued, 'Over the next week, I returned to the GP twice more as my symptoms didn't improve and my fever wouldn't settle. Each time, I was reassured that it was a virus and sent home again.' Anna Martin described, 'The next day, I noticed a painful spot behind my ear and went straight to the hospital. I was isolated in a side room and told it looked like chickenpox, but staff were unsure how to proceed.' She said, 'I was left for several hours without care. I was then transferred to the Women's Health Unit, which had actually closed shortly before my arrival.'
The specific medical tests or treatments that were recommended by guidelines but not performed for Anna Martin have not been disclosed. The official response or statement from Chesterfield Royal Hospital and the GP practice regarding the allegations is currently unknown. Anna Martin's case highlights concerns about how chickenpox during pregnancy is managed, though how common such misdiagnoses are in the NHS remains unclear. The legal proceedings she has initiated aim to address these failures and advocate for policy changes to protect pregnant women.