A PREMATURE baby died of natural causes at 14 weeks old, having suffered from a number of health complaints since birth, an inquest heard.

Ryleigh-Mae Barraclough had spent the first ten weeks of her life in hospital in Dewsbury, having been born at 27 weeks in February 2016, weighing just 1lb 9oz.

Her mother Amy Barraclough, who was 19 at the time, had to rush her back to hospital on four separate occasions as she was having difficulty breathing.

Ryleigh-Mae, of Manor Park Road, Cleckheaton, suffered from reflux, a heart murmur and sleep apnoea due to her prematurity, the court was told. But health professionals who had visited her at home in the weeks before her death had recorded that she was putting on weight, was “pink and alert” and said Miss Barraclough was a good mum and was loving and attentive.

Ryleigh-Mae was discovered unresponsive in her baby bouncer shortly after a feed in June last year, at three months old. Medics tried to revive the tiny baby.

Bradford Coroner’s Court heard how two days before her daughter’s premature birth, Miss Barraclough had been involved in a “domestic altercation” with her ex-boyfriend and the baby’s father, Thomas Farnell. In a statement she claimed Mr Farnell did not want the baby and had cut off all contact weeks before. She had “tricked” him into meeting her in Birstall using a fake social media account. When she tried to get into his car he attempted to drive off which resulted in Miss Barraclough being “dragged” along for a few metres and falling to the ground.

But, the coroner’s court heard, there were “too many other factors” during a difficult pregnancy to be certain that the incident had caused her to go into labour prematurely.

Professor James Walker, a consultant of obstetrics and gynaecology at Leeds Institute of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, in his report read out at the inquest, outlined how Miss Barraclough had continued to bleed throughout the pregnancy and that doctors had thought she was going into premature labour on two occasions.

Dr Kirsten Hope, Home Office forensics pathologist, said a joint post-mortem with paediatric pathologist Dr Jens Stahlschmidt satisfied her there was no evidence the alleged injury had contributed to the baby’s premature birth or her death. She also said there may have been no obvious symptoms of bronchial pneumonia which could rapidly develop in a premature baby.

Recording a verdict of death by natural causes, assistant coroner Kirsty Gomersall said she was satisfied the cause of death was bronchial pneumonia caused by prematurity.

After the inquest Miss Barraclough, who attended the hearing with her current partner Mick Longbottom, said: “I am happy with the outcome of the inquest. The past 18 months have been a nightmare.”