The cause of death of a baby boy who died at the age of one month is unascertainable, an inquest has heard. Montgomery Allen , or Monty, from Breightmet, died at his home in the early hours of September 10 last year. When Daniel Allen and Jade Shipley brought him home from the hospital a month before he was a happy, healthy baby boy with no issues.
An inquest heard how Mr Allen and Ms Shipley were fantastic, first-time parents at the time of a two-week review by Tonge Family Hub. Catherine Parker, from Tonge Family Hub, said: "There were no concerns before the visit or during the visit. They had an app to help them with how difficult it is in the early days.
"I was so impressed by the level of attention to their child. It was unusual and it was very, very impressive." Monty was struggling to sleep in a Moses Basket in the early hours of September 10 so Mr Allen took him to the sofa to go to sleep with his son at around 4am.
Monty was unresponsive when Mr Allen woke up at around 8am. Dr Michael Staunton, a paediatric pathologist, said this is an "unsafe sleeping environment" but senior coroner Timothy Brennand said to say an "unsafe sleeping environment" was a contributor towards the death was "speculative". In the absence of any other evidence for the cause of death at post-mortem the cause of death was unascertainable.
Mr Brennand came to a narrative conclusion saying the one-month-old died due to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Mr Brennand said: "The reality is in every year young people who are days old die suddenly and it may be this is attributable to something which is not possible to identify as part of the post-mortem process. "Tragically there are other parents like you in every jurisdiction and it is inexplicable.
There are things which may or may not have helped but this is a court which deals with neutral, non-judgmental language." Mr Brennand said: "You have done your best and you have been unlucky. "This is a well cared for child who I anticipate will have wanted for nothing.
" Sudden Infant Death Syndrome affects around 200 infants a year in the UK. For information go to nhs.uk/conditions/sudden-infant-death-syndrome-sids/.
This article was written by Jack Tooth. To contact him, email jack.tooth@newsquest.
co.uk or follow @JTRTooth on Twitter..
