Mother overcoming drug addiction found dead in bed days after losing child, inquest hears

By Louise Roseingrave

Drugs used to treat a baby born in withdrawal following exposure to methadone in the womb were not a factor in his death, an inquest heard.

The six-week-old baby boy died the day after he was discharged from the Coombe Hospital in Dublin where he had been treated for withdrawal symptoms.

The infant was diagnosed with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) shortly after birth, a condition occurring when a baby is exposed to drugs in the womb.

The infant, whose mother was on a methadone programme, was commenced on morphine which was gradually reduced as part of a weaning process before his discharge, Dublin Coroner's Court heard.

In addition, the baby was treated with phenobarbital, a sedative drug to help him settle.

He gained weight, his condition improved and he was discharged home to live with his parents at six weeks old.

Hours after he was discharged, the baby was found unresponsive by his mother at the family home.

His grandmother had administered his phenobarbital medication as part of his feed around one and a half hours earlier.

The infant was rushed to hospital where he was placed on life support. He was pronounced dead the following day.

An autopsy gave the cause of death as Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy or SIDS with a past history of Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome on phenobarbital.

There was nothing abnormal detected at autopsy and the child’s medication was present at normal levels, a toxicology report found.

“There is no pathological evidence to suggest drugs or injury played any role in his death,” Coroner Dr Myra Cullinane said, returning a narrative verdict setting out the circumstances of the baby boy's death.

Consultant Neonatologist at the Coombe Hospital Prof Martin White said the child had been kept in hospital longer than most babies in similar circumstances.

There was no medical reason to keep him in hospital.

"I was satisfied he was fit to go home as were my colleagues,” Prof White said.

The family’s social worker said she had no concerns for the parent’s ability to care for their child.

“They were bringing their baby home. They were getting on with their lives. I had no concerns,” the social worker told the inquest.

Three days after the child's death; on the morning his parents were due to receive his remains from hospital, the baby’s mother was found dead in bed.

A separate inquest heard how she was found unresponsive in bed by her partner at 7.15am. The 33-year-old woman was taking prescribed medication as part of a methadone programme.

An autopsy found she died due to multi-drug toxicity with evidence of diazepam, methadone and alcohol in her system. The coroner returned a verdict of death by misadventure.

This was a mixture of all the different things in her system. On that night it was too much for her system.

"She went into a deep sleep and stopped breathing,” Dr Cullinane said.