Lydia Pass, 18, found her five-day-old daughter Arabella Mayer unresponsive in her arms after falling asleep with the baby while sitting in a chair, an inquest heard
A young mum was left distraught after waking up to find her five-day old baby lifeless in her arms.
Lydia Pass, 18, found little Arabella Mayer unresponsive in the early hours of June 17 after falling asleep with the baby while sitting in a chair, an inquest heard.
Arabella was born less than a week earlier at the Royal Stoke University Hospital on June 12. The newborn was taken back to the family’s home in Abbey Hulton, Stoke-on-Trent, shortly afterwards.
Lydia and her partner Ryan, 18, had gone to bed at around midnight after feeding Arabella and putting her to sleep. The pair were woken at 3am to Arabella crying, before they changed and fed her, and returned to bed.
But Lydia awoke sitting in a chair at 5.45am with Arabella lying unresponsive in her arms. The distraught young mum had no recollection of picking Arabella up or falling back asleep, reports The Sentinel.
An inquest heard Lydia may have been suffering with anaemia-related exhaustion following her traumatic three-day birth, during which she “lost pints of blood”.
Lydia immediately sought help after discovering Arabella had stopped breathing. Her brother called 999 and began performing CPR until paramedics arrived.
Arabella was rushed to the Royal Stoke, where medics managed to revive her heartbeat, but she had already been “clinically dead” for around 50 minutes.
Dr Sukesh Mohta, a consultant at Royal Stoke’s paediatric intensive care unit, oversaw Arabella’s care.
He told the inquest: “The brain can only survive for around four or five minutes without oxygen. Anything longer than that is seriously concerning. Through CPR, we can try to maintain some kind of blood flow, but it’s nowhere near as effective as the heart pumping.
“Our first action was simply to prevent further injury. We employed neuro-protection. This involved placing her into an artificial coma to protect her brain. Then the hope is to take her off the support. But when we performed a brain scan the results were very poor.
“We had multiple difficult discussions with the family. It became clear that the situation was not survivable. The decision was made to withdraw life support on June 20.”
Paediatric Pathologist Marta Cohen suggested that Arabella could have asphyxiated either due to an undiagnosed genetic problem or because of the way she fell asleep.
She said: “We don’t know why she collapsed. Sudden unexpected death happens in infants under one year of age. It is where death is unexplained. It is very rare in children who are only a few days old.”
Detective Inspector Adam Goodyer, of Staffordshire Police’s child protective services, ruled out any suggestion of neglect.
He said: “In my conclusion, it’s a very sad tragedy. Her exhausted mum had picked her up in the night to settle her and then fallen asleep with Arabella in her arms. There are no neglect issues here. She was very well cared for in a loving family. I extend my sincere condolences to them all.”
Coroner Lindsey Tonks recorded that Arabella suffered a delayed sudden death in the context of unsafe sleeping.
Ms Tonks concluded: “Here we have two parents and an extended family who had got everything ready for their newborn. They had set up a lovely home for her to return to after a particularly difficult labour and birth. There were no health concerns in those first five days.
“The birth had taken a lot out of Arabella’s mum. That and the challenge of being a new mum had left her exhausted. She awoke to find Arabella unresponsive in her arms with no idea how she came to be there. Her mum did everything she could. Her family did everything they could to give her the best chance at survival.
“There was no evidence of anything being done intentionally or any indication of neglect. The police were very clear on that. The medical team were also very clear on that. I hope that can reassure the mum. There is no suggestion that she has done anything wrong.
“It is clear that this was a mum who had done all she could to try to provide a loving home for her daughter. This was a terribly tragic situation that no parent would ever want to experience. All I can do is offer my most sincere condolences to the family. This is a situation nobody ever wants to face. This was just a terrible, terrible tragedy.”
