by Amy Spangler
December 03, 2009

The recent death of a 4-week-old baby girl on a United Airlines flight has garnered widespread attention. The cause of the baby’s death is still under investigation, however media reports suggest that the child’s sleeping mother smothered the baby while holding her in her arms.

While the presumed sleeping arrangement (mother and baby sharing a single airplane seat) makes suffocation a possibility other causes must be considered, including sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), the leading cause of death in infants between 1 month and 12 months of age.

Regardless of the final determination, the media has missed a rare opportunity to educate parents and caregivers about how to keep babies safe while sleeping. Instead of sharing general safety tips along with strategies specific to airplane travel, media reports such as “Tragedy as breastfeeding mother smothers baby after falling asleep on jet” and “Mum smothers baby breastfeeding on jet” have focused on the fact that the baby was breastfed.

Headlines such as these suggest that this baby would still be alive if the mother hadn’t been breastfeeding. But in reality, this baby could just as easily have been bottle-fed. Research shows that breastfeeding may actually reduce the risk for SIDS. Although the protection breastfeeding provides can’t begin to make up for unsafe sleep practices (putting babies on their tummy to sleep) or other factors known to increase the risk for SIDS (maternal smoking).

Very little is known about the circumstances surrounding this baby’s death. Was she on her back or her tummy when she stopped breathing? Was she ill? Did she show any signs of an upper respiratory infection? Was she snug in her mother’s arms when she stopped breathing or wedged between the mother and the airplane seat? Was she in a separate seat or secured in an infant carrier? Any determination as to the cause of death can only be made after a thorough investigation.

In the meantime, this awful tragedy clearly shows that the importance of safe sleep cannot be overstated. The following guidelines are designed to help every parent keep their baby safe.

• Always place your baby on her back to sleep. Don’t place your baby on her tummy or side.

• Dress your baby in a single layer of clothing. Don’t let your baby get too warm.

• Use a single, lightweight blanket or place your baby in a sleep sack.

• Don’t place your baby to sleep on sofas, chairs or waterbeds.

• Place your baby in a safety-approved crib with a firm mattress.

• Keep your baby’s crib free of pillows, toys, comforters and stuffed animals.

• Breastfeed your baby.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that mothers and babies sleep near one another but not in the same bed. Despite this recommendation many mothers choose to sleep with their babies. Certain conditions and behaviors can make what appears to be a safe sleep area (mother and baby alone in an adult bed) an unsafe one. The following suggestions are intended to help you keep your baby safe.

• Do not place your baby alone in an adult bed.

• Do not place your baby in an adult bed with older children.

• Do not sleep with your baby if you are overly tired.

• Do not sleep with your baby if you smoke.

• Do not sleep with your baby if you have used alcohol or drugs.

• Do not sleep with your baby if you are very overweight.

If you have additional questions about safe sleep, please talk with your baby’s health care provider.