Geelong baby died after freebirth, coroner John Cain finds

A deeply religious Geelong couple did not seek medical attention throughout pregnancy and then prayed over their malnourished baby instead of taking him to hospital, a coroner has found.

A baby died after a freebirth in Geelong.

A Geelong couple’s malnourished baby died after they did not seek medical attention throughout the pregnancy and had a “freebirth” at home, a coroner has found.

The baby boy was born on December 29, 2021 and died less than three weeks later on January 17, 2022.

His parents, aged in their 20s, shared strong religious beliefs, and prayed over the infant rather than taking him to hospital.

The couple lived in Geelong with the baby’s paternal grandmother, and did not seek medical care during pregnancy.

“They did research online, in books and listened to testimonies,” coroner John Cain wrote in his findings.

“They decided that they ‘wanted to live by faith in [their] pregnancy’ and therefore wanted to have a birth that was as natural as possible with no invasive procedures.”

The pair consulted a potential midwife via FaceTime but ultimately decided they wanted to be led “completely by faith” and decided against having one present, Judge Cain wrote.

The baby was born at home with his parents present, and Judge Cain wrote the mother recalled there were “no complications” from the birth.

Coroner John Cain

Daysbefore the baby died, his mum told her husband their son seemed thinner than hoped and “appeared blue”, the coroner found.

They attempted to change the baby’s feeding and switched to formula.

The maternal grandmother suggested taking the baby to a nurse at a hospital for free, but the baby’s mother declined.

Shortly before the baby died, his dad voiced concern about the infant’s breathing.

The parents thought he would recover and laid down and prayed over him.

About 3am, the dad woke up for the baby’s scheduled feed and realised he was “turning purple”.

The dad started CPR but realised his son had died, before waking up his wife, who also attempted resuscitation.

The parents discussed whether or not they should call an ambulance, but instead decided they “had faith” the baby “would not die”.

Later that day the paternal grandmother was informed of the death, and another relative urged her to contact police.

Emergency services attended the scene about 4pm, and resuscitation was not attempted as it was “clear” the baby had died “some time ago”.

A post-mortem revealed his weight was 2.87kg — much less than his reported 4kg birth weight.

Police investigated but ultimately determined they would not press charges.

A forensic pathologist identified issues “consistent with metabolic injury from malnutrition” and dehydration.

“The cause of the child’s malnutrition was likely due to reduced intake, from an inability to adequately breastfeed,” Judge Cain wrote.

The baby’s medical cause of death was listed as pneumonia in the setting of malnutrition.

Judge Cain found that while he could not determine if the death was preventable, there may have been some benefit from specialist maternity or medical support.

“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.

He said the case was a timely reminder for parents who chose freebirth.

These usually occur at home without medical or midwifery assistance.

A baby was taken to hospital in a critical condition after what’s understood to have been a freebirth gone wrong in Ocean Grove in January.

Originally published as Geelong baby died after freebirth, coroner John Cain finds