WINNIPEG – It is possible that all six babies found inside a U-Haul storage locker could have been born alive, according to an expert forensic pathologist.
Dr. Michael Pollanen testified Tuesday via video link in the trial of Andrea Giesbrecht.
Giesbrecht, 42, is accused of concealing the remains of six infants.
Pollanen was brought in from Ontario in 2015 to do a peer review of the initial autopsies performed by Dr. Raymond Rivera, who testified Monday morning.
“They were sufficiently developed to be born alive,” said Dr. Pollanen. “They were capable of being born alive.”
However, based on the state of the remains he said it was not possible to determine if they infants were actually born alive.
READ: Some infant remains found in Winnipeg storage locker were full term: pathologist
Pollanen said a baby could die in childbirth and that could be because of the delivery process. However Pollanen testified “…that is rare with good obstetrical care.”
He continued his testimony and said there are a number reasons an infant could be “still born.”
He qualified those based on five different scenarios:
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- death inside the mother
- death at the time of the birthing process
- death due to lack of care immediately after delivery
- death due to somebody in the environment after delivery
Pollanen said newborns are highly susceptible to hypothermia and if an infant did not have proper medical attention directly after being born it could be fatal.
Under cross-examination by defence lawyer Greg Brodsky, Dr. Pollanen confirmed he was unable to tell if any of the six babies had been born alive but stood clear that they “could have.”
The expert’s testimony echoed what past testimony provided throughout the trial.
On Monday, Dr. Raymond Rivera said, “each of the infants appeared to have been at least close to, or at full term.”
Many of the bodies were badly decomposed which made it difficult for experts to give a definitive answer on the state the infants were born.
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