Mum’s ice addiction may have led to baby’s death: Inquest

AN ice-addicted mother’s drug use during pregnancy could have contributed to her baby daughter’s death, which happened just 15 months after the women’s other baby daughter was found lifeless in her cot with a blanket partially covering her face.

AN ice-addicted mother’s drug use during pregnancy could have contributed to her baby daughter’s death, which happened just 15 months after the women’s other baby daughter was found lifeless in her cot with a blanket partially covering her face.

Medical experts yesterday told an inquest into the two girl’s deaths that the causes for both were “undetermined”.

One baby, known as BL, died at three months of age despite repeated warnings being made to Family and Community Services about the mother’s ability to care for her children due to her ice addiction.

DG was born in June 2015.

BL was born January 2014.

The next year her younger sister, DG, died while in foster care at just 19 days of age.

University of Adelaide Professor of Pathology Roger Byard told the inquest today that BL’s sleeping situation may have been a cause to her death, but the autopsy results could not determine any cause of death and it was “undetermined”.

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The little girl was found dead in her cot which was crowded with blankets, toys, an adult-sized pillow and two bottles.

Professor Byard said it was possible the blanket could have suffocated BL by accident, especially if it became wet, when she was moving around in the cot.

It was best not to have toys or other items inside a cot, he said.

A photo of a makeshift ice pipe tendered to the inquiry.

“Babies with soft material around their nose and mouth when they are bringing up fluid are in a potentially dangerous situation,” Professor Byard said.

He spoke of the importance of education around baby sleeping environments and suggested that pepi-pods – a small box for babies to sleep in rather than a cot – should be handed out at health clinics to help families at risk.

Inside the western Sydney home where the children were raised.

“Young people who have drug habits, who have chaotic lifestyles, it can be very hard to get message through to them (about safe sleeping environments),” he said.

Meanwhile the inquest heard from that it was “plausible” abnormalities found in DG’s brain, which could have contributed to her death, may have been caused by her mother taking ice during her pregnancy.

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The inquest heard that methamphetamines or cocaine constricted the blood vessels and could cause injury in an unborn baby’s brain or kidneys.

University obstetrics and neonatology Associate Professor Nicholas Evans said the ice use was a “plausible” cause for brain abnormalities but “speculative”.

A serious car crash the mother was involved when eight weeks pregnant was not believed to have contributed to the little girl’s brain abnormalities, the inquest heard.

Professor Byard said that one “potentially quite significant” brain abnormality detected could have led to DG having epilepsy but there was not enough research in this area to know and her cause of death was also undetermined.

He said heart abnormalities detected in DG’s autopsy were unlikely to have led to her death.

“I think these are very subtle abnormalities, it’s difficult to see how they could contribute to the death,” he said.