Deeply Heart Broken " Mother Warns Others Not To Sleep With Their Babies, After She Woke She Find Her ' Beautiful Six Week_Old Son Lifeless Next To Her

Rowan Leach accidentally fell asleep while feeding Hadley (pictured), only to find he was unconscious when she woke up

A 'deeply heartbroken' mother has warned of the horrific consequences of co-sleeping with young babies after the death of her six-week-old son. 

Rowan Leach accidentally fell asleep while feeding her 'beautiful baby boy' Hadley, only to find he was unconscious and face down beside her when she woke up.

Winchester Coroner's Court heard Hadley was not breathing when his mother woke at around 8am on September 10 last year.

Ms Leach, 20, immediately rang 999 and began performing CPR before paramedics arrived and rushed her six-week-old to hospital.

However, despite their best efforts Hadley could not be revived and was pronounced dead a short time after.

Ms Leach, who was raising Hadley with the help of her mother, had brought him into her bed from his cot at around 3am for a feed when she felt dizzy and fell asleep.

Hadley had been on his back on his mother's pillow when he was being fed, but was found lying on his front when she woke.

Senior coroner Grahame Short was unable to establish exactly how Hadley, of Southampton, Hants, had died but said he had no criticism of Ms Leach as a mother.

Detective Sergeant Matt Parker, who was tasked with investigating the death but found there were no suspicious circumstances.

And Pathologist Dr Sam Holden told the inquest she was unable to find a definitive cause of death.

Dr Holden added she was unable to say whether Hadley was on his back when he stopped breathing, or whether he had already rolled onto his front.

Ms Leach, who was raising Hadley with the help of her mother, had brought him into her bed from his cot at around 3am for a feed when she felt dizzy and fell asleep

Recording an open verdict, senior coroner Grahame Short said: 'I have considerable sympathy for a mother caring for a baby in these circumstances, particularly when they don't have a partner to help.'

Addressing Ms Leach, he added: 'I find there is no criticism of you as a mother.'

Following the inquest, grieving Ms Leach said: 'Although there was no conclusive evidence to suggest bed-sharing impacted on this tragic event, I am hoping more can be done in future to raise awareness of the risks of bed-sharing to prevent any more parents suffering as I have.

'The loss of my precious son Hadley has left me deeply heartbroken. I was hoping this inquest would provide me with some answers surrounding his tragic death.

'Unfortunately, no conclusion could be reached. However, we do know that it was not accidental and could not have been prevented.

'My baby boy's life was short but beautiful, all he ever knew was love. We miss and love him more than I can possibly explain.'

An average of 133 babies have died each year over the past five years in cases where co-sleeping is a factor, according to Department for Education data.

It revealed a total of 141 children died while co-sleeping in 2017.

Senior coroner Grahame Short was unable to establish exactly how Hadley (pictured: the youngster's funeral) had died but said he had no criticism of Ms Leach as a mother