The mother of a three-month-old boy who died malnourished and dehydrated has told a coronial inquest she did not think her son was "too thin".
Bradley Frederick Whitehouse was born on November 10, 2007 and died three months later on February 10, 2008, weighing just 3.36kg.
An autopsy did not establish an exact cause of death but did find that he was malnourished and dehydrated.
Bradley's mother, Deborah Hughes, told the West Australian coroner she had not had any concerns about her son's growth or progress.
Asked by coroner Alastair Hope if she was concerned about her son's low weight, she replied: "No, (he was) not too thin".
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Visibly shaken as she relayed her evidence, Ms Hughes said her mother, Diane Kelly, introduced her to drugs at the age of 14.
She said she continued to take drugs up to the age of 20 but never when she was pregnant with Bradley or around her other child, Trysten.
Ms Hughes said before she became pregnant with Bradley she took drugs "on occasion" with her mother when Trysten was with his father.
"Why were you taking it at all?" Mr Hope asked.
"I'm not sure," she replied.
Ms Hughes said her income from her job covered her drug use even though she was thousands of dollars in debt.
The inquest heard earlier from child health professor David Forbes, who said if a breastfeeding mother was taking amphetamines, the drug could pass into her milk and affect the baby's growth.
He said although there was no trace of amphetamines in Bradley's system, the drug usually disappeared from the system within 48 hours.
The court also previously heard that Ms Hughes, who was 22 when her son died, used to visit a Perth property where speed, a term for amphetamines, was used and sold.
A woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, lived at the semi-rural property where Ms Hughes frequently visited with her children.
She told the inquest she thought Ms Hughes was taking drugs whilevisiting a friend who also lived on the property.
However, the owner of the property, who supplied drugs to other visitors, told the inquest he never supplied Ms Hughes or saw her take any drugs.
Ms Hughes gave evidence that in her "opinion" the friend she visited at the property did sell drugs to other people, but not to her.
Ms Hughes, who has been granted a legal certificate to ensure her evidence may not be used against her in another court, is expected to continue giving evidence..
