A Spanish hospital where a British woman claimed she was separated from her newborn daughter after doctors expressed doubts she was the mother followed protocol in the best interests of the baby, it has been claimed.



Stacie Cottle, a 27-year-old dental nurse from London, is considering taking legal action against the Comarcal de la Axarquía hospital near Malaga. Cottle claims she was only allowed limited, supervised contact with her daughter, Anzelika, for three weeks pending DNA results to prove that she was the mother.

UK woman reunited with baby in Spain after DNA tests prove she is mother Read more

Cottle, of British Caribbean origin, has said she feared her treatment was influenced by race after she went into early labour at 36 weeks, giving birth in her mother’s new flat in a village about 30 miles from Malaga.



But a spokesman for the Andalusia regional health authority said Cottle’s behaviour when she presented at the hospital with the baby two days after the birth had raised concerns about the child’s welfare. “The doctor who attended to her started to ask her questions, about when she gave birth and other questions in the established protocol for when a person doesn’t give birth in a public hospital,” he said.



The woman left the building with the baby after being told by a doctor that she and the newborn would have to kept in the hospital, he said. In line with protocol, the doctor then called the police to tell them there was a newborn and the woman had left hospital. “The priority of health authorities is the protection and the health of the child. This was a child that still had the umbilical cord attached.”



Asked if doctors were worried about the health of the child, or about whether this was the child’s mother, the spokesman replied: “It was both. There was a health risk because it was a newborn baby. And, given the reaction of the woman, the professional called the national police, who brought the case to the judicial authorities.” Police returned Cottle and the baby to hospital pending the DNA tests.



Cottle has claimed that the doctors maintained their scepticism even after an examination showed that she had recently given birth. She said she stayed in the maternity ward while Anzelika was held in the neonatal unit, and that she was allowed only limited – and supervised – access to her infant for feeding. Her older daughter, Annabella, had to be looked after by her mother.



The DNA results, proving she was the mother, arrived on Tuesday, three weeks after the birth on 16 June. Only then was she allowed to claim her new daughter from the neonatal ward.



The spokesman said the restrictions on Cottle seeing her daughter in hospital were “because of schedules”, which had been ordered by the judge who also ordered the DNA test. “The DNA test results came back to us on 7 July. Then we had to wait for the judicial order, which established the maternal relation and archived the case. Immediately the hospital proceeded to release the newborn baby with her birth certificate and with her schedule of follow-up appointments for her family doctor as is normal.



“We don’t know this woman, or if she’s here or not, or if she’s going to her country or not. But as it is a newborn born in Spain and in Malaga, we’re responsible for giving her a series of follow-up appointments so the baby is taken care of. All we did was follow a protocol that we have, in which the priority is the protection and assistance of that minor, in this case a newborn baby.



“This newborn was taken from the hospital by the mother. As soon as that happened, we couldn’t be sure that the baby was being cared for. I don’t know how it works in England, if it’s very common to have babies at home and come to the hospital so that they can be registered. But we have to confirm that she is the mother.



“And on top of it, her reaction was to leave the hospital. It wasn’t a very normal reaction. She should have stayed at the hospital with her baby.”



Asked if there were worries that Cottle had stolen the baby, or that the child was trafficked, the spokesman said: “I don’t know. The only thing I can tell you is that in the face of the reaction of the woman to leave the hospital, the personnel activated the protocol. It was a newborn with its umbilical cord on the streets. The situation wasn’t very normal.”

Cottle has said she had received no apology from the hospital and that the situation was never satisfactorily explained to her. She has told the Guardian: “Repeatedly, during my stay in the hospital, I was called a criminal by staff and patients, from the day we were admitted to practically the day we left.” She now plans to return to London with both her daughters as soon as possible.



Cottle has said she believes race might have played a part in the hospital’s actions, and told the Guardian: “One of the doctors said she believed I may have been from Kenya or Senegal. I have no proof race was involved, but I heard that from a doctor. It made no sense, because by this time they’d taken photocopies of my British passport.”