A coronial inquest into the deaths of two young boys at a Perth home in the suburb of Ellenbrook has heard the mother was struggling to cope in the months before their death.

The court heard in 2008, Miranda Hebble had put her sons, 10-month old Malachi Stevens and his two-year-old brother Lochlan, in the shower and then left the bathroom and fell asleep.

When she woke up some ten hours later, she saw water at her feet and the door was closed.

Ms Hebble told police she went into the bathroom and found her sons lifeless with Malachi floating in the shower and Lochlan on the floor.

Her attempts to resuscitate the children were unsuccessful.

Counsel assisting told the court Ms Hebble called emergency services and said, "I passed out and my babies were in the shower."

"They're not breathing, they're dead."

The court heard earlier that year, police were called to a shopping centre where Malachi had been left in a car with the engine off and the windows closed.

Officers removed the boy, who was red-faced and distressed, from the unlocked car.

Ms Hebble told police she had left him in the car because she was so tired she thought she might drop him if she carried him.

Exhausted

The court heard the mother seemed exhausted in the months before her two young boys died.

It was told after giving birth to Malachi, Ms Hebble had found it hard to cope with housework, was often tired, and seemed rundown and lethargic.

The boys' grandfather said his son had to catch up on the housework when he came back from his job in the mining industry.

Christopher Stevens was working at Hope Downs when he was told his sons had died.

He says he is seeking clarification and closure.

"An end to the story to help us move on, move forward," he said.

"We don't need this to be dragged through the courts or through public anymore; basically just need closure for myself, for Miranda and her family, my family, and my current family as well so we're not hassled."

The court has been told Ms Hebble's health and wellbeing in the months before the tragedy will be examined during the inquest.