Weeks after her daughter's hospital stint failed to raise suspicion, a guilt-ridden woman confessed to police she had tried to kill the five-month-old.
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The infant daughter was taken to hospital and treated for three days after paramedics were called out to the 24-year-old woman's residence north of Brisbane in March 2022.
"There was no investigation, there were no concerns, the department of Child Safety was not involved," defence barrister Chris Wilson said of the daughter's hospital stay.
However, more than three weeks later the woman picked up the phone and told police what had happened.
In what was described as a spontaneous act, the woman covered the child's mouth and nose with her hands until her daughter appeared lifeless.
"She admitted to police that she did think she had killed (the daughter) ... at that point," the crown prosecutor told the Supreme Court in Brisbane.
The court heard there was a "lack of bond" to the child, with the woman telling police she had become pregnant after being raped and did not know the identity of the daughter's father.
While the woman called an ambulance, the child regained consciousness and started crying.
Once it was clear her daughter was still alive the woman did not persist and there was genuine remorse, the prosecutor said.
The child had not suffered any long-term health problems and had "met or exceeded" developmental milestones, the court heard.
The woman was not intoxicated at the time but was when she rang police in the early morning weeks later to confess, Mr Wilson said.
"Nobody knew, nobody was asking," he said of her offending.
"This confession came as a build-up of guilt and clearly remorse, there is no other reason for it.
"It's a level of remorse and confession that is extremely rarely seen in these courts."
The woman suffered bullying at high school before having a relationship with a man her mother described as "volatile", the court heard.
"It is clear from the statements (the woman) ... has made to the psychiatrist that there was more to that relationship in terms of domestic violence and coercive control," the prosecutor said.
After separating from the man, she became pregnant with her daughter.
A psychiatrist's report said the woman had quite complex PTSD.
Justice Thomas Bradley said it was unlikely the woman - who has no criminal history - would have been charged if she had not confessed and was entitled to extraordinary leniency.
However, he said there were very distressing elements to her offending against a defenceless child and it had to be reflected in the sentence.
The woman - now 25 - pleaded guilty to attempted murder and broke down sobbing when she was sentenced to six years in prison.
She will be eligible for parole in October.
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Australian Associated Press
