Mother feared baby was a dwarf before 'bathtub murder' A Sydney woman accused of murdering her baby in a bathtub, after fearing the girl had dwarfism, told a friend "I would throw her in the bin rather than deal with all this," a court has heard. The mother has been found unfit to stand trial, and is now facing a special hearing in the NSW Supreme Court. The woman, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, has pleaded not guilty on the basis of substantial impairment due to mental health issues. In the months after the baby was born in April 2010, a paediatrician noticed the girl had possible limb shortening and ordered tests for achondroplasia, the medical term for dwarfism. The baby was cleared of the condition, but the mother was still very anxious about her child, Crown prosecutor Nicole Noman, SC, told the court on Monday. While awaiting the results of genetic testing, urgently ordered by doctors who were concerned about the mother's stress, the woman told staff at the Sydney Children's Hospital: "Every time I look at her, she looks like a dwarf ... it's affecting my bonding with her and everyone in the family, including my husband, thinks I'm crazy." The baby was again cleared of the condition, and by October the mother told the paediatrician she was "more relaxed," the court heard. Days before the baby died, the mother told a friend: "I'm looking at mothers in the park that are like ferals, but that have got normal kids. What about me? What have I done to deserve this? We have a perfect family. I should just jump off a cliff with [the baby]. I would throw her in the bin rather than deal with all this. On November 18, the mother called triple-0 and said she left the baby in a chair in the bath while she got some shampoo, and that the child was under water. The court heard the mother did not follow the emergency operator's instructions to take the baby out of the water to render first aid, and she then gave different versions of events to police. Under cross-examination from defence barrister Bob Webb, the woman's psychologist, Grant Betts, said in the months before the girl's death, he had asked the woman whether she had thoughts of harming herself or the baby. "She laughed and said that that was definitely not the case, that she would harm herself or [the baby], and she said that was confirmed by the fact she was seeking help from me," Dr Betts said. A special hearing is a criminal proceeding under the Mental Health Act for people found unfit for trial to ensure that the accused is acquitted unless it can be proved otherwise on the limited evidence available. The hearing continues before Justice Geoffrey Bellew.