Mother tried to kill her baby

A DRUNKEN mother tried to kill her baby because she had not bonded with the infant, a court was told.

Alcoholic Sharon Wiseman was found by paramedics smoking a cigarette outside her home while her baby lay injured upstairs, the court heard.

She was said to have told the emergency workers: "He's upstairs. He should be dead".

And Wiseman, of Waterfoot, said she "had not bonded" with the baby and thought it "would be a blessing if he died", before telling them she just wanted another can of lager, the court was told.

Earlier she had dialled 999 in a "rambling" call in which she said there "was blood everywhere" and that her baby was dead, Preston Crown Court heard.

Paramedics discovered her four-week old baby under a cover in a bedroom.

The court was told he was barely breathing, appeared to be quite still and cold to the touch.

There was also blood around his mouth and nostrils and small bruises to his forehead.

Medical experts believe that the baby's injuries were consistent with smothering and the bruises were deemed non-accidental' injuries, the court heard.

Paramedics placed an oxygen mask on the baby's face and he gasped for breath.

He was taken to the accident and emergency department at Rochdale Infirmary then transferred to a specialist paediatric resuscitation unit.

The baby is now in the care of social services and cannot be named for legal reasons. He is expected to make a full recovery following his ordeal, though there are concerns over his vision, which is to be assessed by an ophthalmic consultant.

Interviewed by police, Wiseman could not recall making comments about the baby being dead, or that his death would be a blessing, but accepted she was very drunk at the time, the court heard.

Wiseman, 39, had earlier admitted a charge of attempted infanticide. At court yesterday she was made subject to a three-year community order on Wiseman, including supervision by the Probation Service. She was also banned from working with children in future.

The Infanticide Act 1938 provides that when a mother tries to kill her child, when the child is under 12 months old, and at the time the balance of the mother's mind is disturbed as a result of her not having fully recovered from the effects of giving birth, then the mother will be guilty of infanticide rather than attempted murder.

Punishment for infanticide can be the equivalent of that for manslaughter - a maximum life sentence.

But Judge Anthony Russell QC said that he had examined 60 cases of infanticide and that almost all were dealt with by a non-custodial sentence.

The court heard that Wiseman had a number of previous convictions for being drunk and disorderly and assaulting police officers.

Wiseman was suffering from post-natal depression at the time of the incident and had a history of psychiatric problems including a personality disorder, the court heard.

Tina Landale, prosecuting, said paramedics raced to the scene after Wiseman made the 999 call.

But she said they could find no obvious signs of an emergency on their arrival.

Wiseman was found at the rear of the property smoking a cigarette, and the medics struggled to get her attention.

Asked where the baby was, she told them: "He is upstairs - he should be dead."

Miss Landale said police arrived on the scene and found a number of cans of Stella Artois lager, littering the front room and bedroom.

Michael Lavery, defending, said his client required help to deal with her alcohol problems, which were at the root of much of her offending.

Wiseman was originally charged with attempted murder.

Judge Russell, passing sentence, said the prosecution had accepted that Wiseman was suffering from post-natal depression and in "an extreme emotional state" when she carried out the offence.