A mother of newborn triplets says she was left shaken after a cruel anonymous letter was sent to the hospital ward where her seriously ill baby daughter is being treated.
Louise Shaw and her husband, Steve, became parents to triplets Ada, Lillie and Maggie in August 2025.
Their happiness soon gave way to anguish when Maggie experienced multiple cardiac arrests soon after delivery, leaving her with severe brain damage and in need of continuing specialist medical care.
Ms Shaw, who works as a nurse, later began posting about the family’s experience online as she adjusted to life as a mother of four while juggling the demands of newborn triplets and long hours at Maggie’s bedside.
She has also been open about the strain on the family’s finances, explaining how she and Steve, who already had one daughter, have faced rising costs while caring for their babies and coping with Maggie’s medical needs.
Although Ms Shaw said the support she found online helped carry her through her “darkest days”, she was appalled when one person sent a venomous two-page handwritten note attacking her parenting and claiming she was portraying herself as a victim.
“This awful letter was mailed to my daughter’s hospital room,” Ms Shaw told the Daily Mail.
“No name, no signature, no postage info. Just pure unhinged nastiness.”
Louise Shaw welcomed triplets Ada, Lillie and Maggie into the world in August 2025.
Maggie suffered a series of cardiac arrests shortly after birth and was left with severe brain damage requiring specialist care
Louise was left horrified after a poison pen letter was sent to the hospital ward where her baby is receiving treatment.
Even more disturbing, the letter contained a string of personal observations about the family’s private life, suggesting the author had been closely following Ms Shaw’s social media accounts.
‘Congratulations on the birth of your beautiful daughters. I hope you will both read this and think about some advice,’ the unsigned letter began.
‘Steve, you hold Maggie so gently – when you left Sydney Hospital, then holding her when you are about to put her in the car. She would feel the love.
‘Louise, please turn your phone off and put it down and stop ranting and raving and being a victim. Listen to yourself asking for money all the time even though you say you are not hunting for it.’
Ms Shaw has been open about the family’s financial strain, revealing she and her husband had already taken out a second mortgage to extend their home in preparation for their growing family.
Ms Shaw’s sister, Ally, even launched a GoFundMe campaign on the family’s behalf to help support them through the difficult period.
‘Maggie has severe, probably the most catastrophic brain damage you can have,’ Ms Shaw said.
‘We are close to taking her home but last time we did she arrested on me and I had to revive her.
Ms Shaw has been open about the family’s financial strain, revealing she and her husband had already taken out a second mortgage to extend their home
The two page letter was not signed and sent to baby Maggie’s hospital room
‘I haven’t even had time to process that because there is so much cost and time involved and people have been so kind to want to help and support us.’
But the anonymous letter writer took aim at those fundraising efforts.
‘You ranted about having a mortgage. News alert, millions of people have a mortgage and are doing it hard,’ the letter continued.
‘Why, when Maggie is still in hospital, do you need overnight care three nights a week? Plenty of families have to manage. Would have kept the help for when Maggie came home.
‘No way would I work for you even if you paid a million dollars as I think no one would be good enough, even if they are excellent at their job.’
The criticism did not stop there.
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The author then turned their attention to Ms Shaw’s social media content, accusing her of exploiting her children by sharing their lives online.
‘You keep saying what an educated person, you are, a nurse and you have your own business,’ they wrote.
The anonymous letter writer took aim at the families fundraising efforts
The family are hoping to take Maggie home soon
‘Why then, with all the social media information, do you continue to put your beautiful daughters on it for the pedo’s and creepy creeps to get their thrills.
‘Trust me there are plenty of them out there.’
The anonymous author also criticised the way Ms Shaw spoke about her eldest daughter.
Not to mention taking aim at her use of profanity on social media.
‘Please stop calling Grace ‘Negative Nellie’ or telling her to buzz off cause you are ranting on your phone,’ the letter read.
‘It will not be long in years when she reads all that has been said. Once put out there it will always be there.
‘Please stop your swearing, it won’t be funny when Grace repeats it or Ada or Millie’s first words are ‘f**k’ or ‘s**t’.’
Before signing off, the writer returned to the family’s fundraising efforts and issued a warning about the money donated by supporters.
The parents were also warned to report their donations to the ATO as income
The anonymous author also criticised the way Ms Shaw spoke about her eldest daughter Grace and took aim at her use of profanity on social media
‘Just a little bit of knowledge, don’t forget to tell your accountant or the ATO how much ‘GoFundMe’ you received. It is still considered income,’ they wrote.
‘Turn your phone off and stop ranting and enjoy the blessing of your girls.’
While Ms Shaw suspects the letter was written by someone who had become fixated on her online content, she remains deeply unsettled by the lengths the author went to in order to contact her.
‘Why are they following me if they feel that strongly about what I do and say?’ she said.
‘It’s essentially hate mail. They didn’t even sign it. It’s so cowardly.
‘I’m just shocked by the audacity of somebody calling me out for the way I live my life and accusing me of constantly asking for money.’
Despite the upsetting experience, Ms Shaw said she had no intention of withdrawing from social media.
‘My online community are everything because I don’t have anyone else around me, so they have become my village.
Despite the upsetting experience, Ms Shaw said she had no intention of withdrawing from social media
‘I will not stop being me and I will not stop sharing my journey to help and educate others. If people want to donate to our GoFundMe because they want to help us, they can.
‘That person has no idea how much debt we are in.
‘Who goes out of their way to write a handwritten letter and send it to a hospital ward?’
