Co-sleeping with a baby, especially an infant, still is an ongoing debate. In some countries, co-sleeping with a child is not a big deal. However, parents should be warned about the dangers that this practice can cause.
Rebecca Hallock, a 37-year-old mom from Scranton, Pennsylvania has been charged that involves an incident with her 3-week-old baby. According to police reports, Hallock was under the influence of drugs while sleeping with her baby in the bed. Unknowingly, the newborn was then reportedly suffocated to death while Hallock was asleep. Sadly, this isn’t the first time it’s happened to Hallock.
This tragic incident happened in November 2019. Penn Live reported that Hallock woke up after co-sleeping with her newborn son only to find that the infant wasn’t breathing anymore. According to Fox56, the mom refused to perform CPR and the baby was later pronounced dead.
A forensic pathologist shared information that helped lead to her being charged after what happened to her son. The pathologist was able to determine the cause of death. It was “compatible with mechanical asphyxia due to co-sleeping with a parent.” Other than that, a blood test also revealed that Hallock had drugs in her system that night that she co-slept with her infant.
Allegedly, the mom had methamphetamine and THC in her blood. And because of this, the mom police believe that the mom caused the earth of her son while under the influence. Sadly, this is not the first time that co-sleeping caused the death of Hallock’s child. In 2017, she told the police that she also fell asleep on her 1-month-old baby that killed him through suffocation.
Investigations were started and after a couple of months, the mother is now being charged with involuntary manslaughter, reckless endangerment of another person, as well as endangering the welfare of children.
Experts warn parents about the dangers of co-sleeping. In fact, even without drugs or alcohol, this practice is still dangerous. The Journal of American Academy of Pediatrics stated that co-sleeping “should be avoided at all times,” especially bed-sharing with an infant that is younger than four months. Also, co-sleeping should be avoided for infants that are born preterm or with low birth weight.
Co-sleeping will put infants at a higher risk for sudden infant death syndrome, accidental suffocation, and accidental strangulation. In addition, the National Public Radio states that about 3,700 babies die each year from sleep-related incidents. Also, in cases where the parent has been using drugs or alcohol, the risk is higher because they are more likely to roll over the baby and cause death without them knowing.
You have to remember that babies are 18 times more likely to die from SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) sleeping next to a parent who’s been drinking. Also, experts believe that there is a similar risk for babies sleeping on sofas.
Peter Blair, a medical statistician from the University of Bristol who studied SIDS epidemiology for over two decades explained that these situations are rare, but when they happen, they are often lethal. “There have been many studies showing this,” Blair added.
To avoid such incidents, the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles website suggests that parents should have their babies sleep near them but on their own separate surfaces. They can be placed in a crib, bassinet, or cradle to avoid injury, or even death.
