A “deeply religious” couple in their 20s prayed for their baby, who later died, when they noticed he was struggling to breathe instead of taking him to a hospital.
The Geelong couple had a “free birth” at home on December 29, 2021 after choosing to forgo medical support during their pregnancy and rely solely on their faith.
“They did research on the Internet and in books and listened to testimony,” wrote coroner John Cain in his conclusions on the case.
The coroner said the couple consulted a potential midwife via video call but changed their minds and decided they “wanted to have as natural a birth as possible without invasive procedures,” he said. The Geelong Advertiser.
The couple, who lived with the baby’s paternal grandmother, said 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 child’s weight and noticed that he “looked blue,” prompting the grandmother to suggest going to a public hospital, but the mother refused and instead decided to switch to bottle-fed formula.
On January 16, the husband expressed concern about the child’s breathing, so the couple prayed for him, believing he would improve.
The couple prayed for their baby instead of taking him to the hospital when they noticed he had a ‘blue tint’ (file image)
At around 3 a.m. on January 17, the husband went to give the baby his usual meal.
He found the boy was turning “purple” and performed CPR before waking his wife, who also attempted to resuscitate the boy before realising he had died.
The couple did not call an ambulance, believing their faith would lead to a miracle and the baby would wake up, and only called paramedics when the grandmother found out later that day.
When ambulance officers arrived that afternoon they found the baby had been dead for some time.
The cause was found to be pneumonia in the context of malnutrition.
“The cause of the child’s malnutrition was likely due to reduced intake, resulting from an inability to breastfeed adequately,” Judge Cain wrote.
“It seems likely that the sooner medical attention was sought, the greater the likelihood that (the baby) would have recovered and survived,” he said.
However, he could not prove with certainty whether the death was preventable.
Victoria Police also investigated but did not charge the couple.
Coroner Cain said the case was a reminder of the dangers of free birth and the decision to forgo medical consultation.