The dangers of parents sharing their bed with a young baby were highlighted in a tragic case heard at an inquest.
The previously healthy one-month-old baby girl was found "purple and unresponsive" at a family home in north Liverpool in late 2021, even though she had appeared perfectly normal when she was checked a few hours previously.
Merseyside Police were alerted by North West Ambulance Service after they were called out to the address. Despite attempts to save her, the baby was pronounced dead in the ambulance.
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The parents, whom the ECHO has chosen not to name, attended the inquest into the death of their baby daughter at Liverpool coroners' court today (Thursday).
Anita Bhardwaj, area coroner for Liverpool and Wirral, heard that the baby had been found "propped up" with a pillow in a double bed shared with the parents. A post-mortem held later found no evidence of significant injury and no clear cause of death.
The coroner told the hearing a cause of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) or "cot death" could not be applied in this case as a baby sleeping in a double bed with adults was not considered a safe sleeping environment. This was because of the dangers of "over-laying", overheating, and re-breathing contaminated air. For this reason, the cause of death was ruled as "unascertained."
Recording a narrative conclusion, Ms Bhardwaj said: "No overt signs have been found to say what's actually happened. If the baby girl had not been in bed with her parents, it would have been a natural cause of death or SIDS. Because she was in bed with them, we can't rule out an overlay, but we don't know what actually happened and no clear cause of death was found.
"There is no compelling evidence to suggest a face-down position, although it is still a possibility. Parents sleeping alongside a baby in bed is considered unsafe."
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