Queensland Health will consider a raft of coronial recommendations after the third smothering death of a newborn baby in the state’s hospitals in six years.

A coroner has called for nurses and midwives to undertake a risk assessment of new mums before allowing them to breastfeed lying down.

The call comes after two-hour-old Bela Heidrich was found dead in her mother’s bed on February 28, 2008, at Rockhampton Hospital.

An inquest into the baby’s death found Bela died due to asphyxia.

The coroner said nurses should assess new mothers and determine how alert they are, provide information on the dangers of lying down, along with a buzzer to contact staff when tired.

All parents in Queensland should also be given information about bed sharing, the coroner said.

Queensland Health executive director Dr John Wakefield said a number of new strategies had already been implemented to address the issue.

“Last year, a state-wide patient safety notice was issued to raise awareness,” he said.

“Maternity care staff in all districts were asked to familiarise themselves around infant sleeping and shared sleep surfaces through the Safe Infant Sleeping e-Learning Program.”

Dr Wakefield said maternity care staff were also required to review the government’s policy on safe infant care and reducing the risks of unexpected infant deaths.

He said Queensland Health has also been working closely with key experts from the Statewide Maternity and Neonatal Clinical Network, the Midwifery Adviser, Queensland Maternal and Perinatal Quality Council and Maternity Branch.