Mother faces manslaughter charges for letting her child sleep on his stomach

This Virginia mother was arrested for the doing the one job she has to do: parenting.

25-year-old Candice Christa Semidey had just finished feeding her son, four-month-old Jahari Jones, when she had swaddled him and laid him down on his stomach to sleep.

With her son under the blankets, Candice took a nap of her own.

When she woke up, she found her son unresponsive. She called for help, but it was already too late. Jahari Jones died from suffocating on a blanket in his sleep.

Candice was later arrested and charged with child neglect and felony. 

Dangers of letting a child sleep on his stomach

The police said that the investigators knew Candace had not meant for the baby to die, and that she was not under the influence of any drugs or alcohol. There were also no indicators of neglect.

But putting a baby down to sleep the way she did was negligent enough to be considered criminal, the investigators also said.

Candace pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and child neglect and was given a five-year suspended sentence.

READ: Sudden Infant Death Syndrome: SIDS causes and tips for prevention

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that babies sleep on their backs to reduce the risk of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome).

Yet many parents put their babies down on their stomachs because they don’t know the importance of having babies sleep on their backs.

Parenting, like many things, is a learning experience. A person does not go into it already knowing everything. Mistakes is an inevitable, and even crucial, part of the journey. This why extensive reading of parenting materials is a must.

It is just heartbreaking that in Candice’s case, her mistake cost her son’s life.

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