A 'beautiful' baby girl died after being found unresponsive in her Moses basket, an inquest heard. Daisy-Mae Stanley was just nine weeks old when she was discovered at her grandmother's home on November 23 of last year.
Lisa Connor woke up to find her granddaughter was 'floppy' with her face partially covered by a blanket and up against the side of her Moses basket, an inquest at Bolton Coroner's Court heard on Monday (June 6). Daisy-Mae was taken to Royal Albert Edward Infirmary in Wigan, where she later died.
However, a coroner heard that it could not be determined exactly how she died. The inquest was told that Daisy-Mae was born on September 17 of last year following a 'healthy pregnancy'.
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The Leigh baby weighed 6lb 11oz and was allowed home with her mum, Chelsey Jackson, and father, Brodie Stanley, the next day.
In the weeks following her birth, the inquest heard that Daisy-Mae was given antibiotics to treat an umbilical infection. The infection eventually cleared up and the hearing was told that Daisy-Mae was achieving all of her developmental milestones.
Ms Jackson, 20, told the hearing that her daughter would 'skip a breath every now and then' and would occasionally fail to breathe for seconds at a time. On November 16, a week before Daisy-Mae's death, Ms Jackson took her daughter to hospital after noticing a rash on her body.
Paediatrician Dr Joanne Ashworth said the baby girl was diagnosed with a viral infection and discharged home. The inquest heard that on November 22, Daisy-Mae and her parents moved in with Mr Stanley's parents on a temporary basis.
That evening, Ms Jackson fed Daisy-Mae before putting her daughter to sleep in a Moses basket next to her bed. After Daisy-Mae woke up some time between 6.30 and 7.30am, Mr Stanley took his daughter into the lounge to be with her grandmother, Lisa Connor, before returning to bed.
Ms Connor changed Daisy-Mae's nappy and attempted to feed her before placing her into her Moses basket, the inquest heard. At first, she would not settle but she eventually did at about 9am.
After getting her to settle, the inquest heard that Ms Connor placed a fleece over Daisy-Mae as she was worried that the baby's hands were cold. Ms Connor then fell asleep but woke up at 11.15am to find Daisy-Mae 'unresponsive and floppy', the hearing was told.
The baby's face was up against the side of the Moses basket and partially covered by a blanket, the inquest heard. Ms Connor woke Ms Jackson and Mr Stanley up and they called for an ambulance. Mr Stanley performed CPR on Daisy-Mae until paramedics arrived at the house and took over.
Daisy-Mae was taken to hospital but resuscitation attempts proved unsuccessful and she was later pronounced dead. In a statement read out in court, Ms Jackson said she had been left 'devastated' by her daughter's death.
She added: "Our little girl is missed by all her family and friends and will remain in our hearts for the rest of our lives."
Pathologist Dr Melanie Newbould said a post-mortem examination had found 'no obvious cause of death'. Dr Newbould added that she had not found any significant injuries or infection that could have contributed to Daisy-Mae's death.
"As in many cases of sudden and unexpected death in infancy, I'm not able to give a cause of death," she explained. "In my opinion, the cause of death should be regarded as unascertained."
Police coroner's officer Marcheta Hogan told the inquest that an investigation had found no suspicious circumstances or third party involvement in Daisy-Mae's death.
Recording an 'open conclusion', coroner Stephen Teasdale said: "It would appear there was nothing obvious that would have been missed by the parents. It simply is that the cause of death remains unascertained."
Following the inquest, Daisy-Mae's family paid a heartbreaking tribute to their 'beautiful baby girl'. "Daisy Mae was the most beautiful baby girl we have ever seen," they said. "She was a happy and healthy baby girl and she had just started to smile.
"Losing her has broke our family, it’s still such a shock to us all. Her brother Theo talks about her ever night before bed.
"When she left, she took a piece of our hearts and we will never forget her gorgeous smile. Forever in our heart mummy and daddy and your brother love you so much and will always talk about you. We miss you dearly r.i.p baby girl sleep tight."
