Dangers of smoking around babies highlighted (From The Bolton News)

Dangers of smoking around babies highlighted

2:30pm Thursday 24th January 2008 in

• Skip social links
• Print
• Email
•  

A LEADING pathologist has warned parents of the dangers of sleeping with babies or smoking in the same house as them after the death of a seven-day-old child.

Lily-Sue Doreena Crompton, died suddenly in July just a few days after being taken home to Longfield Road, Deane An inquest in Bolton yesterday heard how parents, Andrea Crompton and Christopher Grundy, had been sharing a bed with their daughter. They had not been able to buy a Moses basket because she was born almost four weeks early.

Both parents also smoked in the same house as the baby, although they made sure they never smoked in front of her.

Lily-Sue, who was born by emergency Caesarean at the Royal Bolton Hospital on July 22 last year, was pronounced dead at the same hospital just a week later.

Consultant paediatric pathologist Melanie Newbold, who is based at the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital in Pendlebury and carried out a post mortem examination of the baby, said: "I could not find a cause of death, but with babies who die suddenly and unexpectedly in the first year of life, that is not uncommon.

"The number of sudden, unexpected infant deaths is increased under certain circumstances, such as co-sleeping with a parent and parents smoking.

"This doesn't have to be in the presence of the baby. If someone in the household smokes then the risk of sudden infant death increases."

Miss Crompton and Mr Grundy brought their daughter home on July 25 and were visited by a community midwife every day, who told the inquest the baby was "well looked after".

Little Lily-Sue was feeding well and sleeping, with three-hourly feeds, until 8am.

On July 29 Miss Crompton fed her daughter at 2.30am and the couple and Lily-Sue fell asleep.

Her parents woke at 8am to discover their daughter was not breathing.

They called an ambulance and Lily-Sue was rushed to the Royal Bolton Hospital where she was pronounced dead.

Recording an open verdict, Bolton's deputy coroner Alan Walsh, said: "It is sometimes impossible to find the answers we need to bring some closure to the parents on the very sad death of a baby. It was simply a sudden and unexpected death.

"Miss Crompton and Mr Grundy looked after Lily-Sue to the best of their ability and I hope this gives them some peace of mind."