The coroner emphasised the risks and dangers associated with co-sleeping after baby Isaiah McAlonan was found unresponsive at his home at around 11.30am on January 27, 2024
A coroner has warned parents of the risks of co-sleeping for infants after concluding it was the cause of death for an otherwise “healthy and thriving” five-week-old baby – stock photo
A coroner has issued a stark warning after co-sleeping contributed to the sudden death of a five-week-old baby in Co Antrim.
An inquest into the death of baby Isaiah McAlonan took place at Banbridge Courthouse on Tuesday, April 21.
The five-week-old was discovered unresponsive at his Ballymena home at approximately 11.30am on January 27, 2024, and was declared dead at the scene. Police attending were informed he had been sleeping on an L-shaped sofa in the living room with a blanket covering his lower body.
He was last seen alive at roughly 4.30am when he appeared well, had been fed, and was returned to sleep on the sofa. An inquest into his death determined several factors contributed to his passing, including “sleeping in a hazardous sleeping environment”.
Faith McAlonan, Isaiah’s mother, provided testimony to the inquest. She detailed how he had arrived six weeks premature on December 21, 2023 with a low birth weight and jaundice, though had been thriving at home before his death.
Baby Isaiah McAlonan was taken to Antrim Area Hospital(Image: Liam McBurney/PA Wire)
Ms McAlonan explained he was a sickle cell carrier and while he initially experienced feeding difficulties, these had been resolved and he only had mild reflux and trapped wind. She resided with the infant at her mother’s residence alongside her younger sister, reports Belfast Live.
Coroner Anne-Louise Toal explained that her responsibility “where possible and necessary” should be to identify at inquests circumstances which have caused death, but also could result in future fatalities.
The coroner emphasised the risks and dangers associated with co-sleeping.
Co-sleeping refers to the practice of resting in close proximity to an infant. The practice poses significant dangers for babies under four to six months, premature infants, or those with low birth weight, as it substantially heightens the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), suffocation, and entrapment.
Setting out her conclusions “on the balance of probabilities,” Coroner Toal stated: “I find that due to a number of factors, including his age, his prematurity, low birth weight, sickle cell carrier status and maternal smoking and the smoking of those he slept next to, Isaiah was inherently vulnerable to sudden unexpected death in infancy.
“I find he was sleeping in a hazardous sleeping environment for a child under the age of one, namely on a sofa, beside an adult and another child and with a pillow, where the adult had taken a sedating prescription drug.
“I find that being under six months he was at a particularly vulnerable period of his development, all the more so given his prematurity. I find he suffered a cardio-respiratory arrest while he was co sleeping at some time between 4am and when he was found at 11.30am on January 27, 2024.
The five-week-old was rushed to the Emergency Department at the Antrim Area Hospital
“I find that the cause of the cardio-respiratory arrest, on the balance of probabilities, was not any pre-existing disease or natural illness. I find that co-sleeping played a contributory role in the fatal sequence.”
The coroner outlined that baby Isaiah’s cause of death was sudden and unexplained death in infancy and co-sleeping. In concluding the inquest, Coroner Toal elaborated on the dangers associated with co-sleeping, along with guidance on how to do so more safely.
She said: “Statistics tell us that every night a proportion of parents in Northern Ireland co-sleep with their young infants. There are a multitude of reasons why a parent may wish to co-sleep with their baby.
“There have been a number of Public Health Agency (PHA) campaigns, most recently in 2019, highlighting the risks associated with co-sleeping with infants under the age of six months. During this inquest, it was highlighted that based on the best available scientific evidence, it is recommended that the safest place for an infant to sleep is in their own cot or Moses basket in their carer’s room for the first six months.
“The infant should be placed on their back with their feet at the foot of the cot. The infant should be lightly covered with a light blanket with their arms over the cover. There should be nothing else in the cot.
“You should never fall asleep with your baby on a sofa or armchair or allow anyone to share a bed with your baby who has been smoking, drinking alcohol or taking drugs, including prescription medications which have sedative effects.
“The Department of Health have developed Guidance for Safe Sleeping and a number of websites can be found outlining how to keep your baby safe when sleeping such as on the PHA website and the Lullaby Trust which outline both safe sleeping messages and messages on how to co- sleep more safely for those parents who wish to co-sleep with their children.”
The Lullaby Trust is a charity dedicated to preventing unexpected infant deaths and promoting child safety. They’ve published guidance on minimising co-sleeping risks to help protect your baby; for further details click here.
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