Baby girl died from "natural causes"

Friday 19 May 2017

An inquest in Jersey has been unable to discover exactly why a six-week-old baby girl died, with the Coroner noting there is no evidence it was from anything other than "natural causes."

Hope Saoirse McCloskey was born on 8 July, and died in the early hours of 19 August 2016 at the General Hospital where she had been taken by an ambulance after her parents found her unresponsive in her bed.

An inquest heard that the day before her death, Hope had seen a GP for a routine check up and was found to be healthy. She then spent the rest of the day with her mum at her grandparents' house before her father picked them up and drove them home. After being fed, she was placed on a baby mattress.

Her mum then went to bed early while her dad stayed with Hope on the couch, where he later fell asleep. Hope's mum woke up at about 03:00 and saw that Hope looked pale; she alerted her husband and an ambulance was quickly called. Paramedics tried to resuscitate the baby and then took her to the General Hospital where further attempts at CPR were made, but sadly they were unsuccessful.

Tony Forder, the Police Viscount's Liaison Officer, told the Inquest that the circumstances around the baby's death were not suspicious and Hope did not present any signs of injuries. He described the sudden death as "tragic" and "unforeseeable" adding that the parents "...could not have done anything to prevent it."

A post mortem examination by Samantha Holden, ‎Consultant Paediatric Pathologist at Southampton University Hospitals, was not able to identify a cause of death. Hope was described as a healthy baby who had no congenital anomalies and no signs of trauma, pre-existing diseases or infections . Dr Holden explained that none of her findings could account for Hope's death, something that is not unusual in infant death.

The Coroner, Advocate Mark Harris, concluded the Inquest saying that "...despite extensive analysis and investigation the cause of Hope's death couldn't be ascertained. While it is distressing for parents, they might find some comfort in the fact that there is no evidence she died from anything other than natural causes."