In short:
An inquest has heard newborn Alby Spreadborough was seen to take two breaths after a difficult caesarean section delivery.
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Spreadborough → hear → delivery
Experts gave their opinions about why Alby died during a coronial inquest in Townsville.
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Alby → give → Townsville
The coroner will retire to consider her recommendations and findings.
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coroner → retire → recommendations
Newborn baby Alby Spreadborough was "flat, pale and lifeless" when he was born, but an inquest has heard a doctor saw him take two small breaths.
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him → bear → breaths
Among the considerations for Deputy State Coroner Stephanie Gallagher is whether Alby was stillborn after an emergency caesarean section at Emerald Hospital in February 2023.
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Alby → stillborn → February
During this week's five-day coronial inquest into his death, the court heard doctors and midwives did not find a heartbeat while attempting to resuscitate Alby after a difficult delivery.
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doctors → hear → delivery
Rural generalist Tristan Howie said he saw the baby take a "gaspy" breath early in the resuscitation and another a short time later.
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baby → say → resuscitation
Under the Coroner's Act, there can be no findings if the baby is found to have been stillborn.
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baby → find → Act
On Friday, specialist neonatologist Melissa Luig told the court the breaths were likely signs of life and that she believed the baby died from a lack of oxygen.
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baby → tell → oxygen
Dr Luig, who was not involved in the case, said although clinicians were unable to find a heartbeat, it was possible there could have been an undetected slow "electrical heartbeat".
uncertain
it → involve → heartbeat
"I think there probably was a very slow heartbeat when Alby was born or soon after," Dr Luig said.
"It may not have been strong enough to be palpated [felt by hand]."
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It → think → hand
Dr Howie said it was a "great concern" to see Alby take what looked like a breath during resuscitation attempts.
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what → say → attempts
"It was the one and only sign of life that we saw," he said.
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he → see → that
Dr Howie said he later put a breathing mask over Alby and saw him take another small breath, but it was not followed by any breathing movement.
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it → say → movement
"There was one effort at a breath … it was small," he said.
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he → be → breath
But specialist obstetrician Greg Duncombe, who was not involved in the case, said he believed there were no signs of life.
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he → involve → life
Midwife Jess Nabe said she did not see any breathing, heartbeat or pulse.
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she → say → breathing
Counsel assisting Geoffrey Diehm said the evidence during the inquest described Alby as "flat, pale and lifeless in appearance" when he was delivered.
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he → assist → appearance
At the conclusion of the inquest, Ms Gallagher said she was persuaded Alby was not a stillbirth.
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Alby → say → inquest
False signs of reassurance
The inquest also investigated issues around medical charts in the lead-up to Alby's delivery and whether a caesarean should have been performed earlier.
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caesarean → investigate → delivery
The court heard doctors did not find any significant concerns from scans in the lead-up to the emergency caesarean section.
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doctors → hear → section
However, on Thursday specialist obstetrician Rachael Nugent, who was not involved with the birth, said in hindsight, she believed doctors had been "falsely reassured" by scans, which she said were inaccurate.
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she → involve → scans
Dr Nugent said "consistent signs of hypoxia" — when the baby cannot get enough oxygen into the blood — were not recognised.
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baby → say → blood
If a caesarean had been performed an hour earlier, the baby may have "coped better", she said.
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she → perform → ?
However, the court heard Dr Nugent was the only expert consulted who held these views.
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who → hear → views
Parents Rebecca and Tim Spreadborough have attended the court each day.
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Spreadborough → attend → court
On the first day of the inquest, Ms Spreadborough said she made an initial request to her midwife for a caesarean an hour before the emergency procedure was performed.
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procedure → say → caesarean
In a statement to the coroner, the parents said not understanding why Alby died had made their grief hard to process.
"We need to know the circumstance surrounding his death have been thoroughly examined, that difficult questions have been asked and that all reasonable explanations have been properly considered," Ms Spreadborough said.
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Spreadborough → say → death
The proceedings have also heard calls for greater education about Bandl's ring, a rare medical condition that Ms Spreadborough had developed.
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Spreadborough → hear → that
Midwives who were involved in the delivery told the court they were required to write identical information across multiple Queensland Health documents during the labour.
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they → involve → labour
The court heard while this practice had since been changed requiring information to be noted in one location, Emerald Hospital remained paper based.
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Hospital → hear → location
The coroner will retire to consider the evidence before publishing findings and recommendations.
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coroner → retire → findings
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