133 BABIES DIE IN PARENTS’ BEDS A YEAR
Horrifying toll of sleeping alongside tots is revealed for first time
BABIES are dying at the rate of 133 a year after parents fall asleep with them in bed.
The Mirror can reveal the first statistics on “co-sleeping” deaths.
Teneil Howell was a victim, smothered in bed with his mum.
One expert said: “Never fall asleep with your baby.”
PARENTS are warned never to fall asleep with their babies – as it is linked to nearly three infants dying every week.
In the past five years 665 infants lost their lives in cases where “co-sleeping” was a factor.
Francine Bates, of The Lullaby Trust, warned: “Some parents choose to share a bed with their baby but we recommend they keep in mind the risk factors.”
Babies are at risk because parents can roll over, causing suffocation or over-heating.
Co-sleeping can also lead to an increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome, where babies inexplicably die in their sleep.
Ms Bates added: “The chance of sudden death goes up when bed-sharing if a parent smokes, has drunk alcohol or taken drugs or is very tired. There’s also an increased risk if your baby was premature or at a low birth weight.
“Never fall asleep on a sofa or armchair with your baby as it can boost the risk of SIDS by 50 times.” Co-sleeping deaths average out at 133 a year – 141 occurred in 2017, 131 in 2016, 121 in 2015, 141 in 2014 and 131 in 2013.
The figures – kept by the Department of Education – were revealed for the first time after freedom of information requests.
They are collated by local authorities’ Child Death Overview Panel officials who probe deaths of every child in England to see if lessons can be learned.
VODKA
A coroner last month noted the dangers of co-sleeping after recording an open verdict on 10-week-old Teneil Howell.
He was smothered between mum Amy Leigh Howell, 30, and her partner. Amy was said to have been “smashed” on vodka.
Howell, who lived in Bolton, had been warned by a health visitor about the dangers.
The Department of Health recommends babies spend the first six months in a cot.
Ms Bates added: “The safest place for a baby to sleep is in their own cot or Moses basket in their parents’ bedroom until they are at least six months old.
“If you are breastfeeding in bed, do it in a position where you won’t fall asleep or set an alarm.”