A woman has been jailed for three months for the manslaughter and neglect of a newborn baby that she put in a bin after giving birth.
The woman, who the court allowed to be named as Caitlin Corcoran, of Castlebanny, Mullinvat, Co Kilkenny, and formerly of Mount Suir, Carrickphierish in Waterford City, was found guilty by a jury last October.
Three years of the sentence were suspended by Justice Eugene O’Kelly, who said it was a “sad and tragic” case.
The woman sobbed and was visibly shaking at times during her sentencing at Waterford Circuit Criminal Court.
Gardaí were notified initially after doctors at University Hospital Waterford found indications that she had recently given birth after a GP referred her at Caredoc.
A search of the medical centre found the body of a full-term baby girl in a bin several hours after the girl was born.
The court heard Ms Corcoran had concealed her pregnancy and had tampered with pregnancy tests in a bid to avoid her family finding out.
Justice O’Kelly said one psychiatric report found that Ms Corcoran had suffered bullying in childhood.
In sentencing, the judge said he was not considering the concealing of the pregnancy an aggravating factor and instead focused on the 13 minutes the woman spent inside the toilet cubicle at Caredoc, after presenting with severe back pain and constipation.
She placed the baby in a bin and returned to the doctor’s room, but said nothing about the baby.
The court heard she saw blood “gushing” between her legs before seeing the baby’s feet.
Justice O’Kelly said that she was asked what she did before placing the baby in the bin, and the accused said she held the newborn in her left hand and saw “how beautiful she was”.
“I was looking for movement. I wanted her to cry,” she told investigators.
