Jul 1, 2009 11:06 pm US/Central
The Dangers Of Sleeping With Your Baby
(WCCO)
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The only place babies should sleep is in a crib, on their backs, without pillows or stuffed animals. (File)
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A Minnesota grandmother says she has to live the rest of her life knowing she accidentally killed her grandson. And pediatricians say it's a reminder that babies have no business sleeping in beds with adults.
The grandmother has not been charged with a crime, so we are not identifying her. The grandmother said she fell asleep in bed with her infant grandson at her Lakeville mobile home in May. She rolled onto him and he suffocated.
According to a search warrant, the woman uses a couple prescription drugs and she'd been drinking martinis. Police say she blew a 0.12 on a breath test.
Still, the woman said it was an accident. She also said she was left behind to share a message.
"Bed sharing is not as widely known but it's more tragic than people know," she said.
Obviously, experts say you should never mix drinking and any drug when you're caring for a baby. But this kind of death happens more often than you might think.
Henry doesn't remember, but his mother, Kerry Paton will never forget his first months of life.
"You're completely sleep deprived and it's a form of torture," said Paton.
"Those first few months are absolutely exhausting. And I can see how it'd be very tempting to bring an infant to bed with you and just get some Z's together," said Maria Guertin, another mother.
No matter how tired, both mother's didn't give into the temptation and kept their little ones in cribs, close by.
"Our pediatrician told us right away about the dangers of sleeping with your kids. However, I know quite a few people that actually do it," said Guertin.
Dr. Linda Thompson is a pediatrician at Hennepin County Medical Center. She researches shared sleeping deaths in Hennepin County each month.
"It is pretty depressing because it's happening frequently enough that we have to review these cases on a monthly basis," said Thompson.
The most recent numbers, two years ago, show 39 babies died from unsafe sleeping environments in Minnesota. It's such a big problem that every mother who has a baby in a Minnesota hospital gets a brochure to let parents know the only place babies should sleep is in a crib, on their backs, without pillows or stuffed animals.
"I know that prevention is key, and yet it isn't that easy to get the message across," said Thompson.
These two mothers got the message. Paton has another baby on the way and she knows it's not the time to stray away from what she's learned.
"I believe they should have their own place to be. It's a good place to start is right way," Paton said.
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