(ReliableNews.org) – Safe sleep is drilled into the heads of new parents before they leave the hospital with their babies. Pediatricians recommend infants sleep in a crib or bassinet, on their backs, with no bedding or padding around the bed. Unfortunately, some parents don’t listen, and it has deadly consequences. In one case, a woman lost more than one baby.
On October 3, 2023, first responders arrived at a home in Wilmington, North Carolina, after reports of an unconscious baby. The Wilmington Police Department stated that emergency workers weren’t able to revive the infant, and it died. Months later, police arrested the child’s 24-year-old mother, Mackenzie Reed. Authorities charged Reed with intentional child abuse, involuntary manslaughter, and negligent child abuse.
Detectives learned the child suffocated in the middle of the night while sleeping with Reed. She allegedly said she was using THC on the day of the death. Around midnight, Reed reportedly gave the infant some food and then fell asleep with the baby on her left side. Approximately two hours later, the infant’s twin began crying and woke the father up. He discovered the baby on his stomach with his face in the bed.
The very same thing happened to Reed in 2022. In that case, her 3-month-old baby boy died. Law enforcement didn’t charge her for that baby’s death because there wasn’t enough evidence.
Reed reportedly said she couldn’t believe she’d “done this a second time.”
Co-sleeping is a controversial topic among some mothers. However, the American Academy of Pediatrics (APA) has taken a firm position against the practice.
According to the APA, approximately 3,500 babies die every year in the US because of sleep-related incidents. Unsafe sleep environments often contribute to those deaths. The risk of death is 67 times higher when a baby sleeps with someone who is fatigued, a smoker, or using medication or drugs.
Reed is being held under a $500,000 secured bond.
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