A devastated midwife who blamed herself for the death of a premature baby boy was found hanged in her bathroom.

Theresa Naish, 28, had only qualified as a midwife a week before the baby died and feared she would be struck off the midwives' register because she did not brief doctors at King’s College Hospital fully about the delivery.

However the baby was so ill he probably would not have survived anyway, an inquest at Croydon Coroner’s court heard.

Miss Naish, from Upper Norwood, went on leave for two weeks after the incident early this year but no one told her the baby’s death was not her fault, the inquest heard.

She failed to tell doctors the baby had a balloon placed in his throat to help his lungs develop.

When he was delivered, the balloon would have prevented him from breathing.

However, the inquest heard the little boy was so ill he was very unlikely to have survived.

The inexperienced Miss Naish had been left to look after the mother when a colleague of hers took a lunch break, the inquest heard.

When the mother went into labour, doctors took over but she did not tell them about the balloon.

She went on two weeks' leave after the incident but did not answer calls from a senior midwife at the hospital asking her to come in to work and talk about the incident.

Police were forced to break in to Miss Naish’s flat in the early hours of January 28 and found her hanged in her bathroom.

On her computer, police found internet searches for “disbarred midwives” and suicide.

Coroner Dr Roy Palmer recorded an open verdict. He said he was not sure Miss Naish intended to kill herself.

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