Mum Facing Jail After Baby Died While Sleeping In Her Bed

A WOMAN faces jail for up to a year after her 10-week-old baby died as a result of co-sleeping.
The 20-year-old grieving mother was charged this week with ‘criminal nuisance’ by Hastings District Court in New Zealand.
Court rulings reveal that the mother shared a bed with her child despite “knowing that such an omission would endanger the life”.
Another hearing is due to occur in December, as Judge Bridget Mackintosh agreed with the defence that the ruling was “an unusual charge for the situation”.
Tragic cases like these continue to occur, despite authorities warning parents of the dangers of
co-sleeping.
Caution is advised by studies of the American Academy of Paediatrics who analysed 8,200 sleep-related deaths of babies under the age of three months.
In around 74 per cent of the cases, the infants died as a result of sleeping with an adult.
Leader of research, Jeffrey Colvin of Children’s Mercy Hospitals, claimed that “infants at this age do not have the motor ability or strength to move their head or reposition their body when in an asphyxiating environment”.
The Academy has urged parents to put their babies to sleep on their back, wrapped in a blanket, in the safety of a separate crib.