A woman who has been accused of killing her baby daughter has denied child cruelty.

Salini Kukkunoor Padmanabha, 33, from Buckhurst Hill, is accused of murdering seven-month-old Shagun, who died on August, 15, 2017.

The child had injuries consistent with blunt force and "violent shaking", Inner London Crown Court heard on Tuesday, June 11.

A post-mortem examination found fractures to her skull, leg and ribs as well as brain injuries.

Mrs Padmanabha and her husband had conceived via IVF after being married for about eight years.

But Shagun was born prematurely with several medical problems, which required numerous operations and a four-month hospital stay.

Tracy Ayling, prosecuting, said Mrs Padmanabha was the only person who could have caused the injuries as Shagun had not suffered from any traumatic events.

"The rib fractures were consistent with compression of the thorax cage; squeezing of the rib cage," she said. "Rib fractures in children are very rarely the result of accidental trauma due to the flexibility of children's ribs.

"Those fractures required excessive forces."

The injuries dated between a few weeks and up to a few hours before the baby's death.

She added experts said the child's injuries were consistent with shaking and impact with a blunt object or surface.

Shagun's father, Chandra Prasad Kanehitluanda, told the court he had been worried about the way his wife sometimes treated their daughter.

Mr Kanehitluanda said he had seen his wife seen pinching their daughter's face and smacking her bottom, behaviour described as acceptable by Mrs Padmanabha's defence counsel, Caroline Carberry.

"It was the way she did it, out of frustration which concerned me." Mr Kanehitluanda said.

Emergency services found the child with broken bones when they were called to an address in Buckhurst Hill at around 3am on August 15, 2018.

The baby was taken to hospital but later died and tests showed the child had suffered multiple fractures, Essex Police said.

Both parents were arrested on August 21, 2018, in connection with the incident.

Ms Ayling said, due to Mr Kanehitluanda being away from the household at the time of the death the crown says Mrs Padmanabha caused the fatal injuries.

The trial continues.