An inquest into the baby’s death began at the Coroner’s Court in Glebe this morning.
The court has heard that the mother, who can only be identified as JM, engaged in her first sexual relationship, with a fellow year 12 student in 2008 when she fell pregnant.
In January 2009, JM, then 18 and out of school, visited a doctor because she thought she had food poisoning and she was prescribed antibiotics.
Sergeant George Lolis, the counsel assisting the coroner, told the inquest that JM had not menstruated in two months but she did not tell the doctor this.
She realised she was pregnant some time later and started wearing baggy clothes.
At one point her mother, with whom she was still living, asked her if she was pregnant but she denied it.
“She indicated that she did not want to embarrass her parents and hoped that the pregnancy would ‘go away’ on its own,” Sergeant Lolis told the inquest.
“It could be described that she was somewhat in a state of denial.”
However, on September 1, 2009, JM went into labour.
The day before, during an evening class as part of her chefs’ apprenticeship, JM noticed a discharge which she realised was her waters breaking. She did not seek medical attention and instead went to her home in West Pennant Hills.
On September 1, as she was completing a double shift in the kitchen of the north shore restaurant at which she was working, she had to go home because she was not feeling well.
“It should be noted that again no medical assistance was sought,” Sergeant Lolis said.
She arrived home at 10.30pm and lay on the garage floor in an attempt to alleviate the pain.
She then went to the laundry toilet where she gave birth. In an interview afterwards, JM stated that she “blacked out” for a while.
Sergeant Lolis said that when JM “came to” she retrieved the baby from the toilet and wrapped her in a jumper and took her to the car.
She did not notice any signs of life “but did not look closely at the child”.
On the way to her Toyota Corolla, she took a knife from a toolbox and cut the umbilical cord.
She put the baby down behind the car and rested her in the driver’s seat for a little while.
Then she put the baby in a plastic bag, hid her in the car and went upstairs, Sergeant Lolis said.
JM then had a shower and went to sleep.
It was not until early the next morning that her parents, who can only be referred to as PM and SM, went for a walk and found blood in the garage.
After their walk they confronted JM and she revealed she had given birth.
Her father, PM, allegedly cleaned the garage while her mother, SM, discussed with her what had happened.
When the baby was eventually taken to hospital she was pronounced dead.
Dr Issabella Brouwer, who performed a post-mortem examination on the baby, said her cause of death was unknown but it was likely the baby died from drowning in the toilet bowl or from positional asphyxia in the toilet bowl.
Dr Brouwer said the baby’s aerated lungs showed that she had taken at least one breath and was therefore not stillborn.
The inquest will seek to determine how the baby died and what role the mother, her parents and the doctor who prescribed antibiotics played.
Source: The Sydney Morning Herald