Full coverage + online extras
Day 3:
- Stopping killer of babies takes money; how Arkansas, others try to curb sleep deaths
- How babies die sleeping: Details from a few cases
Day 2:
- Parents can face charges; unsafe sleep deaths sometimes a crime
- How babies die sleeping: Details from a few cases
Day 1:
Here are details from a few cases, from 102 coroner's reports from Benton, Faulkner, Pulaski and Sebastian counties.
[DEAD ASLEEP: Babies at Risk » Full coverage + tips for safe sleep, interactive quiz, more]
• Benton County, 2012 -- A mother placed 2-month-old boy on his side in an adult bed, and put a rolled-up sheet behind him. The baby's head and upper body were on a pillow, his body covered with a comforter, with the mother sleeping beside him. The next morning, the mother awoke to find him facedown, not breathing and cool to touch.
• Faulkner County, 2013 -- A mother placed a 1-month-old girl on her back in a bassinet after feeding. Mother awoke to find baby facedown on stomach. Instead of a mattress in the bassinet, baby slept on a folded comforter, a baby blanket and a solid foam-filled pillow, described as "very soft and ... about five inches deep."
• Pulaski County, 2013 -- A 7-week-old boy was placed on his back on a futon mattress on the floor. The mother turned on space heater, covered him with a blanket and comforter, and slept beside him. She removed the comforter when she discovered that he was sweating. She woke later to find him dead facedown on the mattress.
• Faulkner County, 2014 -- Baby was placed on its back in a crib, covered with a comforter. Father found the 2-month-old boy on his side, unresponsive.
• Pulaski County, 2014 -- A mother said she slept with her infant in an adult bed "because she had heard about 'crib death' if you put your child in a crib." The 2-month-old girl died while sleeping with the mother and mother's boyfriend.
-- Lisa Hammersly
SundayMonday on 01/30/2017