The grieving family of a newborn baby whose skull was reportedly fractured during delivery hope that an inquest will bring closure and “prevent future tragedies”.
Baby Nixon Tonkin died just 30 minutes after his caesarean birth at 38-weeks when his mother, Simone Tonkin, went into obstructed labour.
The inquest heard how doctors at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital experienced issues in freeing the foetus’ head from the woman’s pelvis.
A midwife pushed on the baby’s head with two fingers during the difficult labour – a move the family believe ultimately resulted in his death.
The court also heard how a caesarean procedure was conducted with a registrar, as the decision was made that a consultant doctor was not needed.
Nixon was born unable to breath, and an autopsy later showed he’d suffered skull fractures, brain swelling and haemorrhages.
While the parents are understandably devastated at the loss, Simone and her husband Martin are “grateful that the coroner is looking into Nixon’s death”.
“We hope the inquest will reveal what could have been done to help prevent Nixon’s death and make recommendations to prevent future tragedies of this sort,” the parents said in a statement.
“The family would also like to take this opportunity to raise awareness about Ryan’s Rule, which can be invoked to help and get a second opinion for a patient in hospital when the patient or their family are concerned that they are getting worse, not doing well as expected or not improving.”
The Courier Mail reports that further medical support, communication, education and training has ensued at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital as a result.
