Plans for a high-risk home birth, after which the baby died, were not acted on due to a lack of community service staff, a coronial inquest in Lismore has heard.
The inquiry will examine the circumstances surrounding the death of a baby born near Lismore in February 2015.
The court heard the parents planned to deliver the child themselves, despite the foetus lying in a transverse, or sideways, position.
Counsel assisting the deputy coroner, Sasha Harding, said in her opening statement the couple’s GP outlined his concerns but they were ignored.
A report was made to the Child Wellbeing Unit, and the matter referred to Lismore Community Services.
The court heard that due to the number of referrals received from the Child Protection Helpline, the centre was unable to allocate 75 per cent of matters classified as being “risk of serious harm”.
The baby’s parents have both denied planning a home birth, despite not making arrangements to have the child delivered at any local hospitals, the court also heard.
The baby was blue, flaccid: nurse
The baby had a pulse but was not breathing when he was born.
He was taken to Nimbin Hospital and initially seen by registered nurse Petria Maher.
The court heard Ms Maher approached the car and found the baby lying between his parents, who were having a conversation about the placenta.
A quote from Ms Maher’s statement was read to the court: