Six-week old Baby Suffocates To Death After Sleeping With Parents

A six-week-old baby suffocated and died in his sleep after his parents took him into their bed when they returned from a night out.

Paul Pearson, 24, and 22-year-old Emily Lambert put their son Noah in a Moses basket next to their bed when they arrived back at their home in Bradford, West Yorkshire, at 3.30am on May 31. 

When Noah woke up crying at 5am, Mr Pearson took him from the basket, fed him and carried him into their bed, where he cradled the young boy between him and Noah's mother until he fell asleep.

But four hours later, Mr Pearson woke up to find his son lying unconscious, with blood coming from his nose.

Mr Pearson immediately called an ambulance, but Noah was pronounced dead at Bradford Royal Hospital.

At an inquest into the baby's death, a doctor called Noah's death a 'tragedy' and warned other parents of the dangers of sleeping with their babies in their bed.

Bradford Coroners' Court heard Noah died from Sudden Infant Death syndrome (SIDs) after being deprived of oxygen.

But the coroner said a contributory factor in Noah's death was 'co-sleeping and parental alcohol consumption', as well as over-heating. 

After the inquest, Miss Lambert's father Mervyn Lambert called for a national campaign to raise awareness for babies in bed and alcohol consumption.

He said: 'I have brought up three children and they have been perfectly healthy and all have shared our bed.

'It is terrible what has happened obviously and my daughter and her partner are heart-broken as are we all.

'I would like to see a national NHS campaign to raise awareness for babies in bed and alcohol consumption.'

But Miss Lambert said she had just one glass of wine before the incident unfolded.

She said: 'We're not big drinkers and we don't drink a lot.

He said: 'I have brought up three children and they have been perfectly healthy and all have shared our bed.

'It is terrible what has happened obviously and my daughter and her partner are heart-broken as are we all.

'I would like to see a national NHS campaign to raise awareness for babies in bed and alcohol consumption.'

But Miss Lambert said she had just one glass of wine before the incident unfolded.

She said: 'We're not big drinkers and we don't drink a lot.

The last time we went out was on holiday - a year before I had the baby. We just wanted to go out for a bit - I only had a glass of wine.'

The inquest heard how an initial joint paediatric and forensic post-mortem was carried out at Sheffield Children's Hospital. Neither could find a cause of death.

Consultant paediatrician Dr Eduardo Moya told the court the incident had been a 'tragedy' at the no-one had been 'at fault'.

He said tests had shown there were no abnormalities in the baby's organs, which pointed towards Sudden Unexpected Death syndrome.

But the doctor also said that the parents' decision to co-sleep with their baby and having consumed alcohol might have contributed to their baby's death.

He said: 'This was a tragedy and there is nobody as fault but I believe it is important to know the etymology of SIDS.

'These are contributory factors because we don't know the ultimate cause of SIDS. I pass my condolences on to the family.

'It was clear to me when I went to see them that nobody did anything wrong or deliberate. It was an unfortunate tragedy.' 

Dr Moya had told the hearing that there had been a number of contributing factors to Noah's death.

He said: 'The not deliberate and unfortunate set of circumstances is well-documented - bed sharing with parents combined with alcohol consumption.

'Furthermore one or both parents did smoke and that could be a contributory factor as that baby had a rhino viral infection.

'There are a series of risk factors that increase the likelihood of having SIDS. One reason bed sharing is considered dangerous is that one parents could roll on to the infant in the middle of the night. 

'I think the most dominant would be bed sharing with two adults.

'Next would be alcohol consumption. Alcohol enhances fatigue through the night and it could reduce the level of mental awareness in the parents.' 

He also said that over-heating is another factor that increases the chance of a baby dying of SIDS, before adding: 'In my personal view it should be recorded as SIDS with co-sleeping and alcohol consumption.

'The reason I say this is that this is important. If we know how many cases there are with enhanced risk factors and what they are this can help with promoting a campaign for safe infant care.'  

Earlier Coroner's officer Malcolm Dyson read a statement summarising the events that led up to Noah's death. 

He said: 'Noah's parents went out to socialise while his grandmother baby sat.

'The couple returned home at 3.30am the following morning and went straight to bed. At 5am to 5.30am Noah woke up crying. His father has made him a bottle and then placed Noah between himself and Noah's mum.

'He has then fallen asleep and then woken by the sound of a mobile phone ringing at 8.48am. When he woke Noah was still between them.'

He added: 'Noah's father noticed dry blood around his nose and on the bed. He noticed something was wrong. The emergency services were called and Noah was transferred to hospital. However he sadly passed away.' 

Assistant Coroner Dominic Bell recorded a narrative verdict, describing it as a 'tragic day' for the family.

He said: 'SIDS is considered applicable and it is likely that there are a number of contributory factors of the circumstances that have been described.

'In order of contribution - bed sharing, parental alcohol consumption, rhino virus, smoking and over-heating. This is a tragic day for the family.'