Demographics
0y, female
Date of death
2016-09-01
Finding date
2020-03-09
Cause of death
Suffocation due to unsafe sleeping environment with overlying and/or bedding entanglement
AI-generated summary
A 7-week-old baby died following unsafe sleep practices. Born prematurely at 37 weeks with reflux and bronchopneumonia, the infant was placed to sleep on an adult mattress with two adults and another child, rather than in her own cot. Parents provided inconsistent accounts to responders. The coroner found suffocation as the likely cause, either by overlying or bedding entanglement. Risk factors included maternal smoking despite safe sleep education at health assessments, poor home hygiene, and prematurity. The parents were aware of safe sleep guidelines but failed to implement them. Key lessons: reinforce safe sleep messaging at every contact; ensure consistent safe sleep practices regardless of parental circumstances; consider information-sharing between child health and child protection services to identify at-risk infants.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes. Report an inaccuracy.
Specialties
Error types
Clinical conditions
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