A MOTHER strangled her baby girl minutes after giving birth.

Gintare Suminaite gave birth in the bathroom of her seafront home, then killed her newborn while her mind was disturbed by the effects of losing a large amount of blood during labour.

Suminaite, of Aldwick Road, Bognor, yesterday admitted killing the baby while she was mentally disturbed by the effects of giving birth on April 5.

The 30-year-old appeared at the Old Bailey yesterday where she admitted infanticide but pleaded not guilty to murder.

The court accepted her plea but she was warned she may still face jail.

Judge Mr Justice Nicol described the case as "out of the ordinary".

The baby girl was too young to have been given a first name - and was identified only as "baby Suminaite" on the charge.

Her mother - who is also understood to have an older son - killed the girl by "compression of the neck with a ligature or by manual compression of the neck".

At the time the balance of her mind was disturbed "by reason of your not having fully recovered from the effects of giving birth to the child or by reason of the effect of lactation consequent on the birth of the child", the charge stated.

Prosecutor Ed Brown QC said the Crown accepted the plea in light of various reports and asked for the murder charge to lie on file.

He said: "The events go back to April 5 of this year when it is alleged that the defendant having very shortly before given birth to her child then killed the newly born.

"Over the weeks and months leading up until today the Crown have received a body of evidence both from physicians as well as from psychiatric experts."

In light of all the evidence, including on the effect of loss of blood following birth, the Crown had carried out a "wide ranging review" of the "sensitive case", he said.

As a result, it had reconsidered the murder charge and concluded that a guilty plea to infanticide is "acceptable and covers the true culpability and criminality of this case", Mr Brown said.

The judge adjourned sentencing until January 23 for a further report to be prepared by the probation service.

A trial had been due to be heard at Lewes Crown Court in the New Year but the case will now be concluded at the Old Bailey.