Irresponsible Parenting Led to Sudden Death of 3-month Old Baby

On June 26th last year, a three month old baby was found dead sleeping between his parent’s heads at their Hastings home.

‘Baby N’ was born prematurely. He should have ideally been placed in a cot with his face up as per the guidelines issued to the parents from the hospital. Experts feel that the baby could have died of "accidental asphyxiation."

Study Links Co-Sleeping to Sudden Infant Deaths
More than half of sudden infant deaths reviewed in a study released Wednesday occurred while the babies shared a bed or sofa with a parent.

The mother saw her baby at 3 am next to her on the fateful day; later when she woke up at 7 am, the baby was dead beside her.

There were no medical reasons behind the death of the baby, as per the pathologist report, yet the baby’s premature birth and size was itself a risk factor.

The baby was just 785 gms at birth , elevating the risk of infant apnoea. Apparently, the parents were advised to fit an apnoea monitor on the child regularly. A device was also issued to the baby by the hospital. The parents did not heed this instruction as the monitor was not found on the baby during the incident.

Maternal Smoking Can Put Babies At Increased Risk To Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
Researchers say babies born to mothers who smoke are more likely to be slower to wake or respond to stimulation, and this might explain their raised risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

Further, the parents smoked regularly despite being aware of the complications of second-hand smoke and sudden infant death.

The mother had also smoked infrequently during her pregnancy, which may have contributed to certain health risks in the child.

The Role of Staphylococcal Infection in Sudden Infant Deaths may Have Been Overlooked
Bacterial infection, particularly with Staphylococcus aureus, may have been overlooked as a causative factor in cases of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

Source-Medindia

Can Risk of SIDS Go Up When Infants Share the Bed With Adults?
One out of two cases of sudden infant death syndrome in Victoria was attributed to co-sleeping or adults sharing the bed with infants.