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Mothers stark warning after death of newborn son
![This mum wants to educate parents of the dangers of co-sleeping. [Photo: Getty]](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/DjeWmRZgPvgNkWgzXljhhg--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04Mjg-/https://media-mbst-pub-ue1.s3.amazonaws.com/creatr-uploaded-images/2019-08/7daaf680-c000-11e9-b35f-06607f5a2016)
A mother has warned other parents about the dangers of co-sleeping after her two-month-old son died while sharing a bed with her and her husband.
Hugo’s mother, Stacey Costello, had taken him out of his cot for a feed on an unsettled night last August, the SWNS reports.
Afterwards, she placed him on top of a pillow in between herself and Hugo’s father, Matthew and drifted off.
An hour later the unspeakable happened when she woke to find her son unconscious.
He was taken to Royal Blackburn Hospital’s emergency department near their home in Colne, Lanc, and though they managed to recover his heartbeat, baby Hugo was tragically pronounced dead on August 22 last year.
An inquest into the death concluded that he died of lack of oxygen and damage to the brain following cardiac arrest.
An important message
Now, his mother wants to issue a stark warning about the dangers of co-sleeping.
“I can’t stress enough that parents should never co-sleep with their babies, no matter what the circumstances,” she
“It’s not worth the pain and heartache we feel every day we have to live without our beautiful special son.”
Giving evidence at the inquest, consultant paediatrician, Melanie Newbould, said: “This kind of death has a lot in common with sudden unexpected deaths in infancy, which can be related to unsafe sleeping, such as co-sleeping with an adult, and we know Hugo was doing that at the time he died.”
“But co-sleeping is not necessarily the cause as we don’t have evidence of this. But it can increase the likelihood of sudden unexpected death in infancy. However, the conclusion was made that his death was unascertained.”
In order to minimise the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), Health Direct recommends placing your baby back to sleep in their cot for the first six months.
The health organisation body also says you shouldn’t share a bed with your baby if you’ve been drinking alcohol, taken drugs or if you’re a smoker.
Finally, it advises to never sleep with your baby on a sofa or an armchair.
You can seek more advice on co-sleeping with your baby from The Lullaby Trust.
