A five-week-old baby died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) while being carried in a sling, an inquest has heard.
The coroner in the case, which came before Dublin District Coroner’s Court on Thursday, said she will write to the HSE to ensure parents are aware of the risks associated with the use of the baby carriers.
The inquest into the death of Ruadhán Bradshaw Hall, who died on December 21st, 2022, heard that a jersey sling “may or may not” have contributed to an unsafe sleeping environment in which the baby’s ability to breathe was compromised, but that this was not provable.
SIDS is defined as the sudden and unexpected death of a baby who otherwise seems healthy during sleep.
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Dr Michael McDermott, who carried out a postmortem on baby Ruadhán, told the court that while it was extremely unusual, there was a known link between the use of slings and an increased risk of SIDS.
The court heard that, on December 10th, 2022, Ruadhán was discovered unresponsive by his mother Sinéad Hall, who had been carrying the infant in a sling for some time beforehand. It was later determined that Ruadhán had suffered from catastrophic brain injuries due to a lack of oxygen.
Keith Bradshaw, the infant’s father, told the court that if he and his partner – who lived in Garristown, north Co Dublin – had been aware of the link between slings and SIDS then they “would have been more cautious” in using one. He asked that information around slings and the risk factors associated be more prominent for new parents.
Coroner Dr Cróna Gallagher said she would be writing to the HSE on the subject, to ensure that information around slings as a risk factor for SIDS and the safe usage of slings are disseminated to maternity hospitals and GPs.
Dr Gallagher returned a narrative verdict into Ruadhán’s death, stating that he died from SIDS, while being carried in a sling, “which is an additional risk factor for SIDS” but not a direct cause.
In his deposition, Mr Bradshaw said he, Ms Hall and their children went to a Christmas market a short distance from their home in Garristown on December 10th. Ms Hall had placed Ruadhán in a sling to carry him before heading to the market.
He recalled the weather as being extremely cold and that he gave a large jacket to his partner to wear before leaving.
While at the market, Mr Bradshaw recalled Ms Hall speaking with a friend and showing Ruadhán, “who appeared to be sleeping”, to the friend.
After returning home about 20 minutes later, Ms Hall noticed that Ruadhán was unconscious, had turned a grey colour and had blood coming from his nose, she said in her deposition.
Mr Bradshaw’s teenage stepson, who had recently undertaken a refresher CPR course, commenced CPR on Ruadhán on the kitchen table. Emergency services arrived at their home about 27 minutes after they called 999, Mr Bradshaw said. Ruadhán was taken to Children’s Health Ireland at Temple Street.
Ruadhán spent 11 days in the paediatric intensive care unit. At various points, Ruadhán’s prognosis changed, but after witnessing the infant suffer a bad seizure, his parents decided that they needed to “let him go”, Ms Hall said.
“Our little boy was ripped from our lives” in a moment of “violence”, Mr Bradshaw said. The infant’s death left his family “stumbling through a fog of grief”, he said.
Dr McDermott said that Ruadhán died of SIDS, having suffered “significant brain damage as a result of a lack of oxygen to the brain”. He said “compromised sleeping positions” were a factor in about half of recent SIDS cases, stating that the risk factor increased for babies sleeping in a bed or the arms of their parents.
In Ruadhán’s case, he said the sling “may or may not” have contributed to an unsafe sleeping environment.
“This is a tragic death, this is nobody’s fault,” Dr McDermott said. “There’s no other description for it.”
Dr Gallagher offered sympathies to the bereaved family, reiterating that Ruadhán’s passing “wasn’t anybody’s fault”, but rather a “very, very unfortunate and tragic death”.
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