Co-sleeping risk to babies plea

Jolene O'Hanlon wants to raise awareness of the risks associated with co-sleeping

A mother whose baby died due to overheating while sleeping in her bed has spoken out to warn other parents of the dangers of co-sleeping.

Nine out of 60 deaths of babies under the age of one in Northern Ireland between 2008 and 2017 had co-sleeping listed as the cause of death, according to the latest available statistics.

But medical professionals believe the figure may be higher.

Declan Butler-O'Hanlon was nine weeks old when he died in December 2017.

He was the youngest of Jolene O'Hanlon's six children.

'Keep him warm'

"He was the loveliest wee baby - he was so handsome," Ms O'Hanlon, from Glengormley in County Antrim, told BBC News NI.

But after a cold winter's night, life changed forever for Ms O'Hanlon and her family.

After getting her children to bed before school on Monday morning, Ms O'Hanlon made Declan a bottle and took him up to bed.

"I brought him up to bed and fed him and put him down into his Moses basket," she said.

"But whenever I was lying in the bed and put my hand in, his wee hands were freezing.

"I just said 'come on wee man, come on in beside mummy'.

"I wanted just to keep my baby warm."

'I knew he was gone'

Ms O'Hanlon's daughter was also in the bed and she said she put a small pillow between Declan and his sister, so that she would not roll over on to him and she lay beside him.

"I woke up the next morning and I looked at Declan and one side of his face was white and the other side was blue," she said.

"I knew something very seriously was wrong."

She gave Declan CPR while waiting for the ambulance to arrive.

"And then we got to hospital and I knew - I knew in my heart anyway he was gone," said Ms O'Hanlon.

Four weeks ago, a coroner at an inquest into baby Declan's death ruled that the cause of death was co-sleeping.

Ms O'Hanlon said she was aware of the risks but did the same with baby Declan as she had done with her other five children. She said she always put them into bed with her.

"You do not ever think it will ever happen to you, anything like that," she said.

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The coroner also concluded that the fact heating had been left on in the house during the night to dry children's school uniforms was another risk factor.

Ms O'Hanlon received a leaflet about safe sleeping when she was leaving the hospital after Declan was born.

"I think whenever you get handed that leaflet it does not sink in.

"But this does happen and it happened to me.

"Now I am left without a son. The children are left without a brother, all because of me taking him into bed beside me."

Her advice is simple but important: "Please, anybody with their wee baby just cherish that wee baby and just remember no matter how tired you are or you cannot settle the baby just try and ask for help of somebody but always make sure you put the baby in its cot no matter what.

"If me doing this can save another wee baby's life then that will be his legacy and he would not have died in vain."

Advice is available for parents of newborn babies

Dr Julie-Ann Maney, consultant in paediatric emergency medicine at the Royal Belfast Hospital For Sick Children, says sadly it is something she and staff have had to deal with too often.

"It is horrific for the poor family that find their baby cold, dead and lifeless," she said.

"Their whole world shatters, their grief is palpable, and it's very upsetting for the staff here in the emergency department.

"Unfortunately babies die and they die quite frequently of sudden unexpected death in infancy.

"About 200 babies die every year in the UK as a whole - so that's four babies die every week - of sudden unexpected death in infancy."

Reducing the risks

Official statistics show that over a 10-year period, 15% of unexpected deaths of babies under the age of one in Northern Ireland had co-sleeping listed as the cause of death.

Dr Maney believes the figure is actually higher as she says it is hard to calculate figures for Northern Ireland due to the way in which they are recorded.

But steps can be taken to minimise the risks of death.

"What we would say to parents and carers is to put your baby in a cot or Moses basket for the first six months and safe sleep," she said.

"Never ever share a bed with your baby if you've been taking prescription medication; if you've been drinking alcohol; taking drugs; or if you're exhausted.

"Never ever sleep with your baby on a sofa or an armchair.

"Whenever babies co-sleep, as in they are in the bed with their parent, or a carer, or another sibling, it is very hard for them to regulate their own temperature. Also if they get into difficulty they are not able to move, they are not mobile."