Coroner’s warning on cots after baby chokes to death
A CORONER has warned of the dangers of bedside cots after a seven- week- old baby choked to death.
Grace Joy Roseman died after she managed to manoeuvre herself over the edge of her crib and a ‘safety ridge’ cut off the oxygen to her brain.
West Sussex coroner Penelope Schofield yesterday issued a report expressing concern over the Bednest Bedside cot, which was endorsed by the charity National Children’s Trust, saying urgent action must be taken to prevent future deaths.
Grace’s mother Esther put her down for a nap at around 8.30am on April 9. The cot – which is designed to be placed next to a parent’s bed – has a moveable panel on one side which can be folded down, leaving a ridge just 7cm high.
Mrs Roseman returned about 90 minutes later to find Grace unresponsive, lying with her head over the edge of the cot.
The provisional cause of death was given as asphyxia, caused by the ridge cutting off the oxygen supply from Grace’s windpipe.
In her report, Mrs Schofield listed a number of concerns surrounding the cot. She said: ‘In my opinion urgent action should be taken to prevent future deaths ... should another baby be placed in the prone position and left with the side incompletely lowered again in one of these cots, another death could occur. If the cot’s side is not safe to be incompletely lowered or for the cot to be tilted more than 5cms then it should be questioned as to whether these should be options available at all.’ Grace’s father Gideon, who lives with his wife in Haywards Heath, West Sussex, said: ‘ There are no words that can describe how we feel about the loss of our beautiful little Gracie.
‘She was just starting to develop her own little personality and was always smiling. We would not wish any parent to have to go through such a devastating loss.’
The National Children’s Trust has pulled the cot from sale and stopped all pending orders going out. Susie Parsons, interim chief executive of the charity, said: ‘This is a tragedy and our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with the Roseman family at this time.
‘We have immediately suspended all sales and despatches of the Bednest crib until the completion of the inquiry and we will also undertake our own detailed and thorough review.’
Bednest, which is based in Stratford-upon-Avon, is still selling the cribs on their website from £249. The page boasts an endorsement from Jools Oliver, the wife of celebrity chef Jamie. Mrs Oliver writes: ‘We love the Bednest ... I love the way it is so close to our bed the sides are really easy to pull down.
‘Easy and definitely eliminates the fear of falling asleep with them in your bed and suffocating them as they lay safe next to you but in their own safe little cosy bed.’
A spokesman for Bednest told MailOnline: ‘We are greatly saddened and extend our heartfelt condolences to Grace’s parents.
‘We are doubly upset to hear this news, since the concept behind Bednest’s design is first and foremost about baby health and safety and came originally from highly experienced neo-natal nurses.
‘It is not the case that the coroner has called the cot “dangerous” and asked for it to be withdrawn.
‘The coroner has highlighted that all safety guidelines for the correct use of the crib are laid out in the instruction manual, but due to a growing second-hand market for our Bednest cribs, these instruction manuals may not be passed on. This may be, sadly, what happened with Grace’s crib.
‘We are now considering displaying basic instructions on the side of the crib itself.’