An 18-year-old mother woke to find her five-day-old baby had stopped breathing in her arms, an inquest heard. Arabella Mayer died in the early hours of June 17, 2025, after her exhausted mum Lydia Pass fell asleep while holding her.
Arabella had been born at Royal Stoke University Hospital on June 12 and taken home to the family's Abbey Hulton residence. Her parents, Lydia Pass and Ryan Mayer, settled down for the night around midnight after feeding her. They were woken at 3am when Arabella cried, changed and fed her, then went back to bed.
Mum had no memory of picking up baby
Lydia woke at 5.45am sitting in a chair with Arabella motionless in her arms. She had no memory of lifting her up or falling asleep again. The inquest heard she may have had anaemia-related fatigue after a three-day labour during which she lost 'pints of blood'.
Lydia immediately sought help. Her brother dialled 999 and started CPR until paramedics arrived. Emergency crews restored Arabella's pulse at the Royal Stoke, but she had been 'clinically dead' for about 50 minutes.
Medical efforts and decision to withdraw life support
Dr Sukesh Mohta, a consultant at the hospital's paediatric intensive care unit, said: 'The brain can only survive for around four or five minutes without oxygen. Anything longer than that is seriously concerning.'
Arabella was placed in an artificial coma to protect her brain, but a brain scan showed very poor results. Dr Mohta said it became clear the situation was 'not survivable', and life support was withdrawn on June 20.
Pathologist and police findings
Paediatric pathologist Marta Cohen suggested Arabella might have suffocated due to an undiagnosed genetic condition or because of how she fell asleep. She noted sudden unexpected death in infants under one year is rare in children only a few days old.
Detective Inspector Adam Goodyer, of Staffordshire Police's child protection 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.'
Coroner's conclusion
Coroner Lindsey Tonks concluded Arabella experienced a delayed sudden death in the context of unsafe sleeping. She said: 'Here we have two parents and an extended family who had got everything ready for their newborn. There was no evidence of anything being done intentionally or any indication of neglect.'
Ms Tonks added: 'It is clear that this was a mum who had done all she could to try to provide a loving home for her daughter. This was a terribly tragic situation that no parent would ever want to experience.'
