Conor died after being starved of oxygen

Conor Walker died at Leeds General Infirmary after his mother Lisa Salmon, 36, fell asleep for nearly two hours after breastfeeding him.

The hearing was told he died from a lack of oxygen to his brain on 1 February 2002 at Leeds General Infirmary, probably due to "overlying" by his mother.

West Yorkshire coroner David Hinchliff recorded a verdict of accidental death but added that negligence had been a contributing factor.

The three-day inquest heard that partially-sighted Ms Salmon had been suffering from a lack of sleep when she was left unsupervised with Conor.

Ms Salmon was left partially blind by a car crash in 2001

Mr Hinchliff said it was not a case of personal failure by staff but said: "The negligence arose from a systemic failure."

He said he would recommend that Leeds General Infirmary and all other hospitals look carefully at their procedures for the supervision of women sharing a bed with their babies.

Speaking after the inquest Ms Salmon said: "I went into the hospital to have Conor expecting them to look after us properly and they didn't.

"They owed us a duty of care and they let us down.

"I don't think the hospital caused his death but I think it could have prevented it."

Ms Salmon, of Horsforth, Leeds, is expecting another baby boy in January and is still considering whether to take legal action against the hospital.

A spokesman for Leeds Teaching Hospitals said that, since the tragedy, new guidelines have been put in place to assess every new mother before they are allowed to breastfeed in bed.