Coroner's Finding: Van Galen, Esther Grace
Deceased
Esther Grace Van Galen
Demographics
0y, female
Date of death
2016-06-19
Finding date
2018-11-09
Cause of death
Sudden infant death while bed-sharing
AI-generated summary
A 7-week-old premature infant died of sudden infant death while bed-sharing with her mother on a couch. The infant was born at 33 weeks gestation weighing 1.7kg and discharged home after achieving adequate growth. She was examined at a 6-week post-natal check and found to be healthy. The death occurred when the mother fell asleep while holding the infant after a night feed. The coroner emphasised that co-sleeping with infants, particularly on couches, creates unsafe sleeping environments and represents a significant risk factor for sudden infant death. While the parents were loving and caring, the death illustrates the critical importance of safe sleep practices including separate sleeping surfaces for infants.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Error types
Clinical conditions
Contributing factors
- co-sleeping on couch with mother
- unsafe sleeping environment for premature infant
- sleep deprivation in breastfeeding mother
Full text
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