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Midwives Blame Fatigue for Lapses at Baby R’s Home Birth Inquest

Coroner Dimitra Dubrow must establish whether stricter adherence to home-birth protocols could have prevented Baby R’s fatal hypoxia.

Overview

  • Marie-Louise Lapeyre told the court she had not slept before the August 2022 delivery and that extreme tiredness impaired her decision-making and delayed waking her colleague.
  • Elizabeth Murphy said in hindsight she should have called for medical advice or hospital transfer when meconium appeared around 3.30 pm during labour.
  • The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency and Nursing and Midwifery Board have suspended both midwives from private practice while the inquest continues.
  • Dubrow is examining whether the mother’s prior Caesarean and her choice to decline a 36-week obstetric appointment should have precluded a home birth.
  • The inquiry is scrutinising if immediate assessment upon signs of fetal distress, as mandated by home-birth guidelines, could have averted Baby R’s perinatal hypoxia.