A coroner has ruled that the death of a two-month-old baby girl was accidental, resulting from complications linked to coronavirus and an adenovirus throat infection in an unsafe sleeping environment.
Baby M, a pseudonym, died in Melbourne’s south-east in July 2023. Victorian Coroner Therese McCarthy released her findings this week.
The baby had been placed in her cot with her head turned to one side on a pillow and her body beneath a blanket. At some point, the blanket moved over her head.
A forensic pathologist could not exclude suffocation as a contributing factor, but determined the medical cause of death to be “Complications of coronavirus and adenovirus respiratory tract infection in the setting of an unsafe sleeping environment”.
Adenoviruses can cause cold and flu symptoms.
Coroner found mother had followed safe-sleeping advice
Traces of methamphetamine were found in Baby M’s hair, but the drug was not detected in her blood and did not cause or contribute to her death, the coroner found.
Ms McCarthy said the baby’s mother, identified as Ms L, “loved her daughter, engaged with her and was focused on her care”.
She found that Ms L had taken “reasonable, appropriate and extensive steps” to have her daughter’s viral infections assessed.
Ms L had stopped co-sleeping with Baby M after being advised to do so. She also arranged a cot and removed an electric blanket from it after receiving advice from medical professionals.
“The evidence shows that despite Baby M being placed in an unsafe sleeping environment on the day of her death, that Ms L had previously taken appropriate steps to address safe sleeping when she was provided with targeted education to assist her in doing so,” Ms McCarthy said.
The coroner said no adverse comments could be made about anyone involved, describing the death as “accidental and a tragic loss for her family, particularly Ms L”.
Ms L and her daughter lived with members of their extended Samoan family in a home occupied by eight adults and nine children, although they had their own room. An investigating detective sergeant described the family as “very close, integrated and loving”.
Baby M’s biological father was not involved in her life.
Coroner highlights conflicting advice for new parents
Rather than make formal recommendations, Ms McCarthy used her comments to highlight the potentially conflicting information new parents may receive from social networks, organisations and official guidance from Red Nose and Safe Care Victoria.
That guidance recommends educating parents and carers that babies should sleep on their backs from birth, with the safest arrangement being their own sleeping surface in the same room as their carers.
“New parents are often overtired, struggle with new information about multiple subjects related to how they care for a highly dependent little human being,” Ms McCarthy said.
