Twenty-year-old dad Carmine Martino wasn’t aware that after spending a perfect day with his family, it would suddenly end in tragedy. What’s alarming is that this could happen to any parent with an infant. And it serves as a heartbreaking reminder of why you should never let baby sleep on your chest.
Why Is It Dangerous to Let Your Baby Sleep on Your Chest?
Image source: iStock
On November 26 of last year, two-month-old Lucas John Martino had just spent the perfect day with his dad and mum Hayley Gavrilis. Lucas’ parents were exhausted so they decided to get some rest.
After waking up, Hayley saw Carmine on the sofa and went to check their son in his basket. She started to panic after she saw that her son wasn’t in his basket, so he woke Carmine up.
They were horrified to find little Lucas lying on the sofa, and despite their best efforts to revive him, he was declared dead after paramedics arrived.
What happened was that Carmine fell asleep with Lucas sleeping on his chest. But somehow, while he was sleeping, he accidentally suffocated his son which resulted in the infant’s death.
The Parents Split Up Shortly After Their Child’s Death
Shortly after Lucas’ death, Carmine and Hayley separated, but they’re still haunted by what happened to their beloved son.
Carmine shares, “There was a lot of blame obviously – of course I blamed myself.
“Being a father – it’s my job to protect my family, my son and my girlfriend and I failed them. I was extremely angry with myself.
“I’m trying to make progress every day. There’s no way to live with something like this and the images of performing CPR on him will haunt me forever.”
Hayley said that she was diagnosed with PTSD and up to this day continues to have panic attacks because of what happened.
“There are so many people out there who are not educated about this. That’s the scary part. If it happened to us then it could happen to so many other babies,” she adds.
Co-Sleeping Can Be Dangerous
Co-sleeping has a lot of risks for your little one!
While co-sleeping is a good way to bond with your baby, it can be very dangerous. That’s because sharing a bed can greatly increase the risk of SIDS or sudden infant death syndrome.
Baby Lucas’ tragic death was caused accidentally by his father who fell asleep with Lucas on his chest. He could have avoided the tragedy simply by following the simple rule of not co-sleeping with your baby. The same rule applies to letting your baby sleep on your chest.
The best way for your child to sleep would be in their crib, without any pillows or blankets, so that they can avoid any risks of suffocation.
For mums and dads who still want to be with their children while sleeping, a good idea would be to sleep in the same room instead. You can place your little one’s crib beside your bed so that they’re still with you, but at the same time, you’re reducing the risk of SIDS.
Source: Yahoo
Photo from: Facebook
ALSO READ: Educate helpers and relatives about sleep safety to prevent SIDS!