A ‘deeply religious’ couple in their 20s prayed over their baby, who later died, when they noticed he was having breathing difficulties rather than take him to a hospital.
The Geelong couple had a ‘freebirth’ at home on December 29, 2021 after choosing to forego medical support throughout the pregnancy and rely only on their faith.
‘They did research online, in books and listened to testimonies,’ coroner John Cain wrote in his findings on the case.
The coroner noted the pair did consult a potential midwife via a video call but changed their minds and decided they ‘wanted to have a birth that was as natural as possible with no invasive procedures’, reported The Geelong Advertiser.
The pair, who lived with the baby’s paternal grandmother, noted there were no complications during the birth and the baby arrived weighing a healthy 4kg.
Coroner Cain said the baby died three weeks later on January 17 weighing 2.87kg.
Just days earlier the mother said she was concerned about the boy’s weight and noticed he ‘appeared blue’ prompting grandmother to suggest going to a public hospital but the mother declined and instead decided to switch to bottled formula.
On January 16 the husband voiced concerns about the boy’s breathing and so the couple prayed over him believing he would improve.
The couple prayed over their baby instead of taking the child to hospital when they noticed he has a ‘blue tinge’ (stock image)
At about 3am on January 17 the husband went to give the baby his usual feed.
He found the child was ‘turning purple’ and he performed CPR before waking his wife who also attempted to resuscitate the child before realising he had passed away.
The couple did not call an ambulance, believing their faith would lead to a miracle and the baby would wake up, with paramedics only called when the grandmother found out later that day.
When ambulance officers arrived that afternoon they found the baby was long deceased.
The cause was found to be pneumonia in the setting of malnutrition.
‘The cause of the child’s malnutrition was likely due to reduced intake, from an inability to adequately breastfeed,’ Judge Cain wrote.
‘It appears likely that the earlier the medical attention was sought, the higher the likelihood that (the baby) would have recovered and survived,’ he said.
However, he could not find with certainty the death was preventable.
Victoria Police also investigated but stopped short of charges against the couple.
Coroner Cain said the case was a reminder of the dangers of freebirth and choosing to forego medical consultation.
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