A newborn baby died after just three days due to a 'rare but recognised complication of birth', a coroner has found.

George Dosanjh died at the Royal Stoke University Hospital on December 3, 2022, after being delivered by emergency caesarean section.

He had suffered multi organ failure and brain injury due to a lack of oxygen after becoming separated from the placenta during his difficult birth.

An inquest was held into the death this week, and one of the issues it considered was whether the actions of medical staff had contributed to George's tragic death.

But after hearing two days of evidence, coroner Fiona Gingell found that the medics at the Royal Stoke had acted in line with training and guidance and their decisions had been 'reasonable'.

George's mum Charlotte Hird, from Stafford, was admitted into the Royal Stoke with abdominal pain on November 27 and subsequently went into pre-term labour at 34 weeks.

Doctors decided to carry out an emergency c-section after becoming concerned at George's falling heart rate.

But during the procedure they found the placenta had started to separate, which developed into an acute abruption, cutting off George's oxygen supply.

The efforts to deliver George were hampered by impacted fetal head, where the baby's head becomes lodged in the mother's pelvis, meaning a further incision and a reverse breech procedure were needed.

George was eventually delivered 42 minutes after the decision had been taken to carry out the c-section. He was in a very poor condition and was taken straight to the neonatal intensive care unit, where he died three days later.

Ms Gingell found that the decision to classify the c-section as a 'category two', rather than a more urgent 'category one', did not affect the outcome, and that the placental abruption had not been the result of any medical intervention.

She said: "There is no evidence that the actions of medical professionals caused the placenta to separate."

Ms Gingell concluded that the placental abruption had been the primary cause of George's death, but impacted fetal head meant it took longer to get him help. The fact that he was born premature was a secondary factor.

In giving a narrative conclusion, Ms Gingell said that George had died 'as the result of a rare but recognised complication of birth'.

Ms Gingell also paid tribute to George and offered her condolences to his family. She said: "It's very clear that he was very much loved by his family, and he is dearly missed by all of them."