Baby died after swallowing 1.4cm piece, inquest heard

A baby girl died eight days after her first birthday when something lodged near her vocal chords causing her to collapse, an inquest has heard.

An inquest at the Windsor Guildhall heard on Thursday how Amina Zaheer, of Cedars Road, Maidenhead, was found dead on March 12 at her family home.

It heard how the one-year-old was happily playing with her family, but then suddenly collapsed and died.

The inquest heard how she had put something organic or a piece of wood, about 1.4 cm long and half a cm in diameter, into her mouth, which cut off her airways or triggered heart failure.

Speaking at the inquest, pathologist Dr Stephen Gould said it could have killed any baby of her age and there was nothing anybody could have done due to the location it had lodged in.

He said the firm 'foreign body' stuck and causing an obstruction was either some sort of vegetable matter, something organic or a piece of wood.

Dr Gould said she had chewed and inhaled it - as bits were found in her stomach.

The inquest also heard how the baby girl had suffered from breathing problems and had passed out a few times in her short life.

Berkshire coroner Peter Bedford, said whatever it was - it had lodged near her vocal chords, which cut off her airways or could have triggered a reaction that caused heart failure.

In recording her death, Mr Bedford said it was a 'tragic and awful accident'.