Coroner warns parents against co-sleeping after baby death

Darcie-Rose Souster died in Northampton General Hospital in January

Parents who let their babies sleep with them in bed are putting their children's lives at risk, a coroner has said.

Northampton coroner Anne Pember gave the warning after concluding an inquest into a 11-week-old baby's death.

Darcie-Rose Souster died after being starved of oxygen as she slept on her father's arm at home in Wellingborough.

Mrs Pember said "sleeping with a baby, particularly young children, is unsafe."

The baby died at Northampton General Hospital on 22 January, after her father Justin Souster, 42, woke up in bed to find her "floppy" and unresponsive.

Her mother Nicola Souster, 40, was in the bed along with one of their other children, who had climbed in with them during the night.

'Unsafe' sleeping

Consultant paediatric pathologist Dr Roger Malcomson, who carried out the post-mortem examination, found evidence of blood in the child's lungs and other markers of asphyxia.

He said there were no suspicious circumstances.

But he said the way in which Darcie-Rose had been put to bed at their home in Wellingborough was an "unsafe sleeping environment" which had increased the risk of death.

It prevented him from concluding that the cause of death was due to Sudden Infant Death (SID) syndrome.

He told the coroner and both parents: "Given the [baby's] head was on top of the [father's] arm, with the neck flexed in that position the cause of death could be given as positional asphyxiation in the context of co-sleeping."

But the baby's mother said the evidence appeared "circumstantial" and asked why a "severe chest infection" her daughter had been struggling with had not been investigated more.

The pathologist replied she had had a common cold and told the court the baby appeared "well-nourished" with no external injuries.

The coroner, who told the parents she was sorry for their loss, said in her verdict: "I accept the cause of death was positional asphyxiation in the context of co-sleeping."

Afterwards, Mr and Mrs Souster, who have six other children, said the inquest verdict should have been "accidental or inconclusive".

Mr Souster: "We just wanted it to be clear today, but listening to the medical evidence today we haven't had that."