Baby smothered on airplane

[annie_noah]

There was a tragic incident where a baby was smothered on an airplane when the mom fell asleep. The media is placing the blame on the fact the mom was breastfeeding when she fell asleep. That is ridiculous to me. The only reason it would have anything to do with her breastfeeding, is if the airline told her to "cover up" and gave her one of those horrible blankets to cover up with. Breastfeeding doesn't suffocate babies. Blankets can suffocate babies.

I wrote more about it on my blog: http://www.phdinparenting.com/2009/1...ding-to-blame/

[everything to one]

seems like a baby could suffocate if your breasts were large enough and they were in the wrong position. but chances are the baby was covered up and it was probably a combination of factors. really sad any way you look at it.

[annekevdbroek]

What a sad sad tragedy. My heart goes out to the family.

[Minarai]

GAH!
I KNEW this would happen eventually.
Our society is so CALLOUS toward this sort of tragedy; they'll just blame the mother and claim it was a "casualty of breastfeeding," then formula companies will use the case as an example in their ads, and the list goes on and on and on.

[KimberlyD0]

we don't even know if she was using a blanket. We don't know anything except she fell asleep BF and her baby died.

Tragic

[TXmom2]

That is a horribly sad incident. I think it's really bad that they use the headline that makes it sound like she smothered her child.

This is one of my biggest fears and the reason I don't get much sleep....

[annie_noah]

Originally Posted by KimberlyD0

we don't even know if she was using a blanket. We don't know anything except she fell asleep BF and her baby died.

Tragic

Kimberly: You are right. We don't know if she was using a blanket. My point was simply that the only way it COULD be connected to breastfeeding in any way is if she was using a blanket to cover up because she was breastfeeding.

Otherwise, if the baby suffocated on the mom's lap while the mom was sleeping, that could have happened whether she was breastfeeding or not.

[AllyRae]

Babies can die while breastfeeding or bottlefeeding and it will have absolutely nothing to do with the fact the baby was eating. It's a tragedy, but the truth of the matter is NOBODY knows what happened... The baby was very young (4 weeks old) and flying on a transcontinential flight. Any number of things could have happened--the baby might have had a heart condition that went undetected, etc.

It's just such a sad sad tragedy. That poor mother. She probably already blames herself and then one day she'll come across an article blaming her as well.

[KimberlyD0]

Originally Posted by annie_noah

Kimberly: You are right. We don't know if she was using a blanket. My point was simply that the only way it COULD be connected to breastfeeding in any way is if she was using a blanket to cover up because she was breastfeeding.

Otherwise, if the baby suffocated on the mom's lap while the mom was sleeping, that could have happened whether she was breastfeeding or not.

Saddly no its not the only way it could have happend. Its a horrible tragic thing no matter what.

But we may want to be careful about throwing blame. This mother is not to blame, but we don't know that anyone is. So throwing blame doesn't help. I do hope they might tell more in the future, but we may not. The mom, nor anyone on the flight is saying, at this point, that a blanket was even used, or forced on her.

[annie_noah]

Originally Posted by KimberlyD0

Saddly no its not the only way it could have happend. Its a horrible tragic thing no matter what.

It isn't the only way the baby could have died/suffocated, but it is the only way I could see that it could be connected to breastfeeding. The baby could have died of SIDS, a heart condition, or suffocation, but those have nothing to do with breastfeeding.

Its a horrible tragic thing no matter what.

Agreed. That is the very first point I made in my post.

But we may want to be careful about throwing blame. This mother is not to blame, but we don't know that anyone is. So throwing blame doesn't help. I do hope they might tell more in the future, but we may not. The mom, nor anyone on the flight is saying, at this point, that a blanket was even used, or forced on her.

I'm not throwing blame for the death. There are plenty of possible explanations for the death.

However, I do think it is awful that airlines try to force moms to cover up with blankets and I do think it is a risk factor. Was it one in this case? I don't know.

[AllyRae]

I didn't think airlines forced moms to cover up. I've nurse on planes multiple times...from a 4 month old through a 3 1/2 year old, both domestically and internationally, and have never ever been asked to cover up. And in fact, I've had flight attendents verbally praise me for nursing so the baby didn't cry... :

I think it's the same as it is anywhere else...sometimes you get some jerks who are very forceful about making someone cover up, and sometimes you are in the right place at the right time and nobody really even mentions the nursing.

[UberMama]

Some airlines do ask moms to cover up.

Regardless, it doesn't mean the act of BFing is what killed this child. It could have been smothered by the breast, by a blanket, etc.

I have larger breasts. I had a LC tell me that my DD was breathing fine when I insisted I hold my breast away from her nose. Sure enough, I pulled the breast away from her nose slightly and my DD unlatched and gasped for air. Her little nose was being smothered, but she was too busy eating to be bothered to unlatch until I moved her and I believe she was reminded to breathe. :/

In the end, I feel terrible for the mom and family. I cannot imagine the pain they are going through.

[Sk8ermaiden]

Originally Posted by UberMama

I have larger breasts. I had a LC tell me that my DD was breathing fine when I insisted I hold my breast away from her nose. Sure enough, I pulled the breast away from her nose slightly and my DD unlatched and gasped for air. Her little nose was being smothered, but she was too busy eating to be bothered to unlatch until I moved her and I believe she was reminded to breathe. :/

I agree. My midwife tried to tell me that babies' noses are made to be able to breathe while pressed against the breast, but she did not have breasts like mine! As a newborn (and even now as a 4 month old), my DD could not breathe AT all while nursing unless I held my breast off her nose. Thankfully, she would un-latch, but I could see how, on a cramped plane, in a cramped position, she could have not had enough room to do so.

But that's all speculation. We have no idea what happened to that baby, but I was just responding to the idea that breastfeeding can't suffocate babies.

[Momily]

Originally Posted by Minarai

GAH!
I KNEW this would happen eventually.
Our society is so CALLOUS toward this sort of tragedy; they'll just blame the mother and claim it was a "casualty of breastfeeding," then formula companies will use the case as an example in their ads, and the list goes on and on and on.

You've seen formula company ads where they tell stories of babies smothering?

[KarlaC]

Originally Posted by Momily

You've seen formula company ads where they tell stories of babies smothering?

I haven't but my mother emailed me this as another reason she thought I should quit 'doing that'(breastfeeding). She's 63 & firmly entrenched in the idea that bottle feeding is cleaner, more sanitary & better for the baby to be independent. Definitely something the formula companies are liking(and something they implanted in our culture decades ago).

[GreenGranolaMama]

So sad

[SuzyLee]

The article I read said the mom had another baby die at 4 weeks too.

That makes me think it is some kind of apnea problem, or a metabolic disorder. Mom's don't just have 2 babies die at exactly the same age, yk? There has to be something else going on.

[GoldmanBaby09]

Originally Posted by SuzyLee

The article I read said the mom had another baby die at 4 weeks too.

That makes me think it is some kind of apnea problem, or a metabolic disorder. Mom's don't just have 2 babies die at exactly the same age, yk? There has to be something else going on.

That was actually a different mother mentioned in the article who had two children die, and I agree there has to be something else going on there.

I think this article is poorly written and places too much blame on a mom just trying to do what is best for her baby. Like the Target article that is in another thread, it would be nice if more details were provided. Otherwise, it is just sensationalism.

[annettemarie]

Let's stick to the Lactivism part of this please, since MDC no longer hosts news stories just for their own sake. Thanks!

[Claire and Boys]

Has there actually been an autopsy performed? Because otherwise I feel it's irresponsible for the media to be reporting this as a death caused by breastfeeding, co sleeping or whatever until it is known for sure that was the cause.

Friends of ours lost a very young baby a few years ago. Baby was ill with a chest infection, dad took baby downstairs to give mum a break as she wasn't sleeping, he fell asleep with baby on the sofa. When he woke up the baby was dead in his arms.

Of course it looked as if it was a smothering death, co sleeping on sofa not safe, but when the autopsy results came out it was found that the baby did NOT die from smothering but from the illness.