A woman who waited three years to find out why her baby died just minutes after being born has been told he suffered internal bleeding moments before he was delivered.

Fiona Murray this week attended the inquest into her son Benedict's death, clutching a picture of him.

He was born by emergency caesarean at Maidstone Hospital in March 2011. She had waited 50 hours after her waters had broken to meet him.

A coroner found Benedict had suffered a bleed to his brain in the last few minutes of delivery as a surgeon moved his head.

But Mid Kent and Medway assistant coroner Allison Summers assured Miss Murray that nothing had been done wrongly and all medical staff who had cared for the pair had acted appropriately.

Miss Murray who had gone through IVF, went to Maidstone Hospital on February 26 when her waters broke, but was assessed and sent home, returning on February 28.

It was not until just before 2pm on March 1 that she went for the emergency procedure as labour had not progressed.

The court heard a foetal monitor recorded a normal heart rate until it was disconnected to go to theatre.

Midwife Samantha Underwood said she had not listened to it between then and the birth, which expert witness Dr Mark Waterstone described as "substandard" but immediately added that he understood how it happened.

He and expert witness Dr Malcolm Griffiths agreed the lengthy delay was not ideal, but had not contributed to the death.

Surgeon Mohottalalage Navaratne said he had needed to manipulate the baby's head using forceps to get him out.

It took five minutes but he was "floppy" and pale. Despite resuscitation attempts, Benedict was pronounced dead 21 minutes later.

A post-mortem examination recommended the medical cause of death was undetermined.

But Dr Janet Rennie, a consultant in neonatal medicine in London, said the resuscitation had been correct.

She concluded it was most likely Benedict had suffered a small bleed, causing him to be born in shock.

Concluding the medical cause of death was the bleed on the brain, Ms Summers said: "The manipulation, which was appropriate, involved the use of both hands and forceps. It is likely to have caused the bleed which in turn led to his demise and death."

Benedict's mother Miss Murray, who clutched a picture of her baby, had told the hearing at Maidstone's Archbishop's Palace: "I'm 43, that was my only chance to have a child and it was taken away."

She added: "I would've been the best mum and I never got the chance to be."

She said after the case: "The reason his cause of death was given by the coroner was that at the moment of delivery the surgeon manipulated his head manually and used forceps, causing a subgaleal haematoma (bleed on the brain) in Benedict's head. No one at Maidstone Hospital has been made accountable."

In a statement, Miss Murray's solicitor Patricia Fearnley said: "Understandably Fiona and her partner Damien have struggled to come to terms with their baby's death and have been desperate for answers as to why he should have died.

"They have waited a long time for the inquest but they are grateful to Allison Summers for carrying out a thorough investigation."