An inquest has heard how an 18-year-old mother woke to find her five-day-old baby lifeless in her arms after falling asleep while holding her.
Lydia Pass had given birth to Arabella Mayer at the Royal Stoke University Hospital on June 12, 2025. The newborn was taken home to Abbey Hulton, Stoke-on-Trent, shortly after. On the night of June 16-17, Lydia and her partner Ryan, also 18, went to bed around midnight after feeding and settling Arabella. They were woken at 3am by Arabella crying, changed and fed her, then returned to bed.
Lydia later awoke sitting in a chair at 5.45am with Arabella unresponsive in her arms. She had no memory of picking up the baby or falling back asleep, according to The Sentinel.
Medical response and withdrawal of life support
Lydia's brother called 999 and performed CPR until paramedics arrived. Arabella was taken to Royal Stoke, where doctors revived her heartbeat, but she had been clinically dead for about 50 minutes. Dr Sukesh Mohta told the inquest: "The brain can only survive for around four or five minutes without oxygen." He added: "We had multiple difficult discussions with the family. It became clear that the situation was not survivable. The decision was made to withdraw life support on June 20."
Inquest findings: exhaustion and no neglect
The inquest heard that Lydia may have been suffering from anaemia-related exhaustion following her traumatic three-day birth, during which she lost "pints of blood". Detective Inspector Adam Goodyer, of Staffordshire Police's child protective services, ruled out neglect. He said: "In my conclusion, it's a very sad tragedy. Her exhausted mum had picked her up in the night to settle her and then fallen asleep with Arabella in her arms. There are no neglect issues here. She was very well cared for in a loving family. I extend my sincere condolences to them all."
Coroner Lindsey Tonks stated: "The birth had taken a lot out of Arabella's mum. That and the challenge of being a new mum had left her exhausted. There was no evidence of anything being done intentionally or any indication of neglect. The police were very clear on that. The medical team were also very clear on that. I hope that can reassure the mum. There is no suggestion that she has done anything wrong. All I can do is offer my most sincere condolences to the family. This is a situation nobody ever wants to face. This was just a terrible, terrible tragedy."
