Mother who fell asleep in same bed as baby son wakes up to find him dead

Case was ruled result of 'unexplained death in infancy'

Harrison before his tragic death with his parents (KentLive/BPM MEDIA)

A woman woke up to find her newborn baby had died after she fell asleep next to him, a coroners court heard.

Lauren Jordan said she had taken her son Harrison to bed with her and partner Kieran Jones, in bid to get him to settle.

The 23-year-old from Crowborough in Kent, said she had intended to put him back in his cot.

But both she and Mr Jones, 22, who were both tired after a long day, had fallen asleep, she told the coroner's court in Maidstone.

She woke up several hours later to find Harrison not breathing in the bed.

“I looked into his cot as I was pretty sure I had dozed off before Kieran and I thought he would have put him back,” she said. "But he was not there and then I looked over at Kieran and he was in exactly the same position as when he fell asleep and Harrison was in the middle on his back.

“I could just tell from his colour that he was not breathing - he was not warm - but he was not cold."

Mr Jones then attempted CPR for up to 15 minutes before the paramedics arrived.

Harrison was declared dead at Tunbridge Wells Hospital in the early hours of 4 June.

Assistant coroner for Mid Kent and Medway, Scott Matthewson, described his death as a “very sad case.”

Pathologist Dr Mudher Al-Adrani said the child’s death was accidental and the result of “unexplained death in infancy.”

Dr Al-Adrani said the baby may have been smothered by his sleeping parents, or he may have overheated between them.