A coronial inquest is examining the death of newborn Alby Spreadborough at Emerald Hospital in Queensland on February 6, 2023. During an obstructed labour, the mother repeatedly requested a caesarean section but was initially advised to continue with vaginal birth for another hour despite her pain. The court heard that the doctor later identified a rare medical condition called Bandl's ring, which constricted the uterus and prevented Alby from exiting the birth canal.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-02,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
In short:
A coronial inquest is investigating the death of newborn Alby Spreadborough at Emerald Hospital in February 2023.
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inquest → investigate → February
A doctor told the court the mother developed a "rare" medical condition restricting the baby from exiting the birth canal.
What's next?
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What → tell → canal
The inquest is expected to continue until Friday.
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inquest → expect → Friday
An inquest into the death of a newborn at a central Queensland hospital has heard his mother felt she was "dismissed" by doctors when she requested a caesarean.
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she → hear → caesarean
Alby Spreadborough died at Emerald Hospital on February 6, 2023, after an obstructed labour, a condition that occurs when the baby cannot move through the birth canal.
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baby → die → canal
Today, the second coronial inquest into his death heard from his parents, Tim and Rebecca Spreadborough, and doctors.
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inquest → hear → parents
The court heard that while in "excruciating pain" during labour, Ms Spreadborough asked her midwife, "Can they cut it out of me?", but was advised by her doctor to continue the vaginal birth for another hour.
"I was a vulnerable mother in labour in excruciating pain," Ms Spreadborough said.
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Spreadborough → hear → pain
"I had trust in my care team, so I trusted they were making the right decisions for me."
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they → have → me
She said she felt there was "pushback" from her doctor regarding having a caesarean section after her initial request.
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she → say → request
"I felt there was lots of pressure and encouragement to continue birthing vaginally," she said.
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she → feel → pressure
Assisting counsel Geoffrey Diehm asked Ms Spreadborough if the doctors may have been waiting to ensure she was sure she wanted to proceed with having a caesarean.
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she → assist → caesarean
Ms Spreadborough said discussions were not balanced and were weighted towards the vaginal birth.
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discussions → say → birth
She said she later "firmly requested" a caesarean section and was taken into the operating theatre.
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she → say → theatre
"I was already at a point where I couldn't bear any more pain …
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I → bear → pain
I reaffirmed my request for a caesarean section," she said.
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she → reaffirm → section
Ms Spreadborough told the court that during the caesarean operation she realised something had gone wrong and that doctors were attempting to revive her baby.
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doctors → tell → baby
"No-one came to me to communicate to me what had happened, but I could hear in the room what was happening," she said.
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she → come → room
Both Ms Spreadborough and her husband told the court they did not recall any discussions with doctors about abnormalities in scans.
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they → tell → scans
"The only thing I recall is them saying baby is really happy on the CTG [cardiotocograph]," Ms Spreadborough said.
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Spreadborough → recall → CTG
A rare phenomenon
The court heard Emerald Hospital did not have a dedicated paediatrician at the time.
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Hospital → hear → time
Rural generalist Brooke Davies, who was the doctor during the birth, told the inquest Ms Spreadborough had developed a rare medical phenomenon called a Bandl's ring, which is a ring of muscle that constricts between the upper and lower sections of the uterus.
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that → tell → uterus
She said it was the first time she had seen the ring in a patient and that she cut through the ring, but it remained tight.
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it → say → ring
"[It was] like I had cut through a steel ring rather than a rubber band," Dr Davies said.
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Davies → cut → ring
She said initial scans of Alby and Ms Spreadborough did not indicate highly concerning abnormalities.
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scans → say → abnormalities
The road to an inquest
In February 2025, two years after Alby died, an initial central coroner's report found that the death was not preventable and was due to the formation of a Bandl's ring.
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death → die → ring
But the Spreadboroughs advocated for an inquiry due to concerns the report did not focus on the care surrounding the complication.
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report → advocate → complication
State Attorney-General Deb Frecklington ordered the inquest after meeting with the parents.
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Frecklington → order → parents
The inquest, before Deputy State Coroner Stephanie Gallagher in Townsville, will consider whether a caesarean section should have been performed earlier and if it had, whether Alby would have died.
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Alby → consider → Townsville
The inquest will also investigate if the "manner and performance" of this operation contributed to the baby's death.
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manner → investigate → death
Evidence about medical procedures and decisions throughout the birth will also be examined.
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Evidence → examine → birth
The four-day inquest continues.
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inquest → continue → ?
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