A mother falling asleep after breastfeeding her child is an “almost universal” occurrence, an infant health expert has told a jury.
Constance Marten, 38, and Mark Gordon, 50, are on trial charged with the manslaughter of their baby daughter Victoria who died on the South Downs in early 2023.
The prosecution alleges Victoria died from hypothermia or was smothered while co-sleeping in the “flimsy” tent, despite past warnings.
Marten previously told jurors that the baby died after she had “blacked out” and fell asleep over her after feeding her.
Giving evidence at the Old Bailey, Professor Peter Fleming said it was normal for parents to co-sleep with their babies, with around 25% of infants under six months doing so in the UK.
Asked by barrister Tom Godfrey, defending Marten, about mothers falling asleep after breastfeeding, Prof Fleming told jurors breastfeeding was an “incredibly demanding process” and that falling asleep afterwards was “almost universal”.
Prof Fleming told the court the risk of any baby “dying suddenly or unexpectedly” was about one in 4,000, and that factors such as soft bedding and rolled-up items around the baby made the risk about twice as high.
He said: “We advise keeping pillows and duvets away from the baby.”
While this is a sizeable increase, other factors such as sofas can make the risk of death 20 times higher, Mr Fleming said.
He told jurors he had dealt with two previous cases where a mother had sat up with the baby before falling asleep over it.
It is also alleged that Victoria was inadequately clothed in a babygrow and that Marten had got wet as she carried the baby underneath her coat.
CCTV footage previously played in court showed the baby being put in a buggy while wearing a white babygrow at a German Doner Kebab shop in east London on January 7 2023.
Asked by Mr Godfrey if he thought the handling of Victoria at the shop was inappropriate, Prof Fleming said: “I wouldn’t say inappropriate, slightly clumsy.”
The Old Bailey has heard the couple had wanted to avoid their fifth child being taken into care amid a high-profile police hunt for the missing baby.
The child’s body was discovered with rubbish inside a shopping bag in a disused shed near Brighton after the defendants were arrested.
Marten and Gordon, of no fixed address, have denied the gross negligence manslaughter of their daughter and causing or allowing her death between January 4 and February 27 2023.
Jurors have been told the defendants were convicted at an earlier trial of concealing the birth of a child and perverting the course of justice.
The trial continues.
