The improper use of a Bumbo baby seat in a shower led to the death of a six-month-old boy in Perth and the tragedy should remind parents to watch their children near water, a coroner says.
The infant, known only as TPL, was placed in the seat under a running shower by his exhausted mother, who left him alone for less than 15 minutes in January 2013.
He fell out of the seat, which had moved to a position that blocked the drain, filling the shower with 20cm of water, and she returned to find him not breathing.
TPL died three days later in hospital, having suffered an unsurvivable hypoxic brain injury after nearly drowning.
In her findings released on Friday, Coroner Sarah Linton said leaving the baby unattended was contrary to the Bumbo seat manufacturer instructions and general recommendations for child safety around water.
"A child the deceased's age can drown in one quarter of that amount of water, and his immersion in this amount of water ultimately had fatal consequences," she said.
Ms Linton ruled the baby's death was an accident and there was no suggestion his mother deliberately put him in harm's way.
"She simply made errors of judgment when she was exhausted and unwell that tragically had fatal consequences for her only child," Ms Linton said.
"It is clear from her statement that she deeply regrets her decision to leave him unsupervised for that period of time and was, and will forever remain, devastated by his death."
Ms Linton said the tragedy was a timely reminder to remain vigilant whenever children were near water.
She added parents who own a Bumbo seat must carefully read the warnings on the product and be aware it is not designed for use in the bath or shower.
"Any parents who own a Bumbo seat that is not fitted with a restraint belt should consider accessing the Bumbo Australia website to obtain a free restraint belt kit," Ms Linton said.
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