Infant death inquests in Cork hear of dangers of co-sleeping
Cork City Coroner, Philip Comyn, said: “It is clear from Dr Bolster’s evidence that the biggest risk of co-sleeping is if you fall asleep on the sofa with the baby in your arms, and then also if the baby is sleeping in the bed with you. It is something we all need to be aware of and be reminded of.” File photo
The assistant State pathologist and a coroner have warned about the dangers of co-sleeping after the inquests of two young babies in Cork.
The comments were made during the separate inquests into the deaths of Christopher Delaney and Alannah Murphy O’Callaghan this year. At both inquests, pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster outlined that the autopsy reports of the infants showed no underlying issues and that both babies were cared for and well.
She gave the cause of their deaths as Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), category 2. She outlined that there are two categories of SIDS—with category 2 including co-sleepers.
She said: “That is because we can’t rule out an asphyxial element in the death, or the bed covering, or the thermal element—the baby overheating in the bed. And that may trigger the whatever complex cause of sudden infant death. We don’t know yet—they haven’t identified it yet.”
She also outlined in the court that the “most dangerous place to fall asleep with a baby is the armchair or the sofa.” She elaborated: “That is because the baby can get trapped between you and the armrest of the chair.”
She added: “In my experience, co-sleeping does increase the risk (of SIDS).” In both cases, verdicts of natural causes were returned by Cork City Coroner, Philip Comyn.
He said: “The evidence of Dr Bolster highlights something that a lot of parents might forget—that is to be aware of the dangers of co-sleeping with babies or indeed infants.”
"It is something we all need to be aware of and be reminded of.”
During the inquest into the death of Christopher Delaney, who was 14 weeks and six days old, a statement made by Christopher Delaney’s mother Breda to gardaí was read into evidence.
She outlined that she discovered baby Christopher unresponsive in her bed in Edel House on Grattan Street in Cork City on the morning of March 4 this year. She raised the alarm with the staff at Edel House, shortly after 9am, having run from her room with her baby in her arms.
Colette Foster, a staff member at Edel House, recalled in her statement that at around 9.15am on the morning of March 4, she heard Breda Delaney saying: “My baby, my baby won’t wake up.”
Another staff member at Edel House, Darren Cootes, said in his statement that baby Christopher “wasn’t moving, he was blue and looked like he had passed away.” Staff attempted CPR while a defibrillator was also used, before paramedics arrived.
Christopher was removed to the Mercy University Hospital by ambulance, where he was pronounced dead.
Meanwhile, Alannah Murphy O’Callaghan of 47 Bishops Avenue, Farranferris, Cork, died on January 7. The infant, who was born on October 3 last year, had been asleep in a double bed with her two-year-old sister Emma, her mother Cherylanne Murphy and her father Dylan O’Callaghan.
Dylan awoke at around 6am and discovered Emma lying on top of Alannah. Alannah’s parents then became aware that she was lifeless.
Neighbour Lorna Carroll-King, a nurse, carried out CPR until the fire service and ambulance arrived. Alannah was taken to Cork University Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at around 7am.
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