SIDS: UK: Baby died in car seat

A FOUR-MONTH-OLD baby who regularly slept in her car seat inside her home died of natural causes, an inquest heard.

Lily Aitken died at home in Edmund Road, Spondon, after sleeping in the seat for an extended amount of time.

Derby and South Derbyshire Coroner's Court heard she was found lifeless by her parents, Luke Aitken and Emma Buckby, at about 3pm on Sunday, April 8.

Lily's car seat was often brought indoors for her to sleep in as she did not settle in her Moses basket and liked, her mother said, to be squashed up – a luxury that her car seat allowed.

The court heard that Lily had slept overnight in the seat and had woken up at six on the morning of her death to be fed and changed.

She then went back to sleep until around noon, when she was fed and changed again, and then went back to sleep.

It was at around 2.45pm when her parents became aware that they had not heard anything from her.

When they checked on Lily, she was lifeless.

The emergency services were called and attempted to resuscitate her.

She was taken to hospital but pronounced dead shortly after arrival.

An investigation was led by Andrew Wright, from Derbyshire Police, who gave evidence in court.

He said: "There was no question of suspicious circumstances surrounding Lily's death. She was a well cared for, healthy little girl. There was nothing out of the ordinary surrounding her care.

"Social services were involved with the family and there were no concerns."

Dr Mudher Al-Adnani, a paediatric pathologist, carried out the post-mortem examination on Lily and found nothing to explain her death.

He said: "The only thing I noticed what that Lily was small for her age, but I knew that she was premature so this is not unusual.

"She was fully developed and was in good health. She seemed to be a normal four-month-old baby."

Dr Al-Adnani said that he could not conclude that Lily died of cot death because she was not in her cot or Moses basket at the time and said she died of natural causes.

He said: "The medical advice is that babies are not to be left to sleep in their car seats for a long period of time.

"We do not know if being in her car seat was anything to do with Lily's death. It could just be a coincidence and this could have happened anyway."

Deputy Coroner Louise Pinder ruled that Lily died of sudden infant death syndrome due to natural causes and returned a narrative verdict.

She said: "Nothing in the post-mortem examination could explain Lily's death. Lily died as a result of sudden infant death syndrome but because of potentially unsafe sleeping circumstances."