“All the women feel guilty,” said Susan.
“The government knew that it [sodium valproate] caused problems and it was still continued to be licensed for usage for pregnant women,” she said.
In June, England’s first patient safety commissioner, Dr Henrietta Hughes, wrote to then Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, external expressing disappointment that there had not been a “substantive response” from the government to the calls for redress. She has still not received a response to her 16 July deadline.
Back living in Northern Ireland, it was only after the 2020 publication of the Cumberlege Report, , external that Susan says she got “closure”.
But six years on from the initial report, families are waiting for redress.
“I’m angry. Parents are not getting any younger and we need to set out a care path for our children. It needs to be sorted quickly,” Susan said.
“If I am no longer here Anna will have proper housing and medical care which she will need all her life,” she added.
Anna, 32, is also angry on behalf of her mum.
“I have tried to convince her we don’t hold any grudge. I am grateful to her – it’s not her fault. They should have been more honest with her,” she added.