3-Month-Old Baby Girl Dies When Left Sleeping In A Bouncer
A 3-month-old baby girl was found dead by her mother after the child had been sleeping a long time in a bouncer, according to HNGN.
Leia-Mae Smith was sleeping in a bouncer while her mother and an older sibling slept on a nearby couch. When the mother woke up around 4.30 a.m., she found her daughter was not breathing, and her lips were blue. It seems as though the girl had not fallen asleep while playing in the bouncer, but the bouncer had been her bed for the night.
Essential Baby reported that the 24-year-old old mother from Gloucester told the heartbreaking story and explained to the court what happened.
“I woke up at around 4.30am and saw that Leia-Mai was not breathing and her lips had turned blue. I took her out of the swing, gave mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and dialed 999. When the paramedics arrived, I pleaded with them to get my baby to breathe. It all seemed so unreal, like a bad dream, and I thought I would suddenly wake up and it would all be okay. I love my children dearly and live every day with this pain. She may just have been a baby but she was my baby.”
Court records only show that the death of the baby girl occurred when the child had been left unsupervised to sleep in a bouncinette.
Pathologist Dr. Thomas Martin said Sudden Infant Death Syndrome was a “possibility.” Sudden Infant Death Syndrome was investigated, but it could not be proven that it was the cause of the baby’s death. It remains a possible cause, according to the Mirror. Gloucestershire senior coroner Katy Skerrett concluded that no cause of death could be determined.
Since the tragic death of Leia-Mae Smith, warnings on bouncers and swings have been publicized even more. Parents are warned that children in bouncers should be supervised, and children should not be left in bouncers for extended periods of time. Additionally, children should not be allowed to sleep in bouncers.
Bouncers come in all types. Some bouncers are in a suspended contraption, and some go over doors. It was not revealed which type of bouncer Leia-Mae died in. A bouncer seems like an easy solution for busy moms, but bouncers are to be used only for short periods of time. As in the 3-month-old baby’s case, it appears that she had been sleeping in the bouncer for most of the night.
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