Twin co-sleeping deaths: Who is responsible?

Feb 07, 2012 11:49 AM by Monica Beyer

Posted in Parenting / Age by Age / Baby & Toddler

Co-Sleeping Safe
If Done Right

The tragic co-sleeping deaths of twin baby boys in Idaho yet again sparks the co-sleeping debate. Is bed sharing really safe, or are babies better off in cribs? Read on and decide for yourself.

Sleeping baby

Kiarra Kimbel phoned 911 early in the morning to report that her twin sons, Gabriel and Tryce Medrano, were not breathing. They were rushed to the hospital, where both were pronounced dead. It was later revealed that they had both been sleeping with their mother in her bed, and the coroner has subsequently cleared the mom of any wrongdoing, ruling the deaths the result of accidental suffocation.

Murky details

Even though there is no evidence of unsafe co-sleeping, the reports don't give out a lot of information on the circumstances surrounding the babies' deaths. It isn't any less safe to co-sleep with twins than it is with a singleton, but all co-sleeping rules must be adhered to.

"I would like to caution those that sleep with their infants that this is an unsafe practice."

The parent or parents should not be under the influence of alcohol or drugs, there should be no fluffy pillows or blankets anywhere near the baby and baby should also be situated next to his mother.

Accidentally suffocating one baby is a tragic accident; suffocating two will result in an investigation. Fortunately, no charges were filed as the deaths were ruled accidental but it begs the question -- what's the rest of the story and how could this have been avoided? The coroner in this case, Kim Quick, made a bold statement: "I would like to caution those that sleep with their infants that this is an unsafe practice," Quick said.

Co-sleeping is not for everyone

Some moms we spoke to said that they have never had any intention or desire to bed share with their babies. "We don't co-sleep simply because I worry about this stuff," shared Lauren from Missouri.

Kelsey, mother of one, co-slept with her little one but made the decision based on her own sleep habits. "I always felt safe about it, but I'm an insomniac and an extremely light sleeper," she explained. "If I were a heavy sleeper, I would not have."

Co-sleeping is great if done safely

Other mothers feel very strongly that co-sleeping is safe as long as it is done correctly. Lissa, mom of four, said, "I find it very tragic that accidents happen, but I think the risk factor involved is actually quite low. Human and other mammals were designed to sleep next to their mothers for nourishment and protection."

Unless more details come out about the exact circumstances, it's hard to say whether Kimbel's bed sharing setup was appropriate. Kylee from Wisconsin is a co-sleeper and adheres strictly to the co-sleeping rules. "This story is vague, and seems suspicious," she reported. "I wouldn't even begin to speculate what exactly happened, or what was truly at fault for the death of those poor babies."

More on co-sleeping

The co-sleeping debate
Co-sleeping: The equivalent of putting your baby to bed with a butcher knife?
Tips for safe co-sleeping

Tags: sleep and babies

Comments

Comments on "Twin co-sleeping deaths: Who is responsible?"

Bed sharing is not safe, EVER! These "accidental suffocation" deaths happen more then you would think. I think the coroners statement "I would like to caution those that sleep with their infants that this is an unsafe practice," hits the nail on the head. There are families out there that do bed share and have had no bad results but the risks just far outweigh the benefits. If you want your child to be close to you then get a bassinet or co-sleeper and place it next to your bed. I personally feel that bed sharing should be banned and any infants who are suffocated by these actions the parents should be charged. This is a preventable death plain and simple and a shame that anyone would advocated it!

This is the part I don't get: how do you cosleeping moms actually sleep comfortably if you can't have any pillows or blankets near the baby, but the baby is supposed to be positioned near you? I like to sleep in the fetal position, turn sides every so often, and have my down comforter pulled up to my chin. Do you sleep with no blankets? Put the baby on top of your blanket? I agree that the odds are against rolling over and killing two children in one night. Also: I disagree that maternal instincts protect children from the mom rolling over them, and that only intoxication accounts for it going otherwise. I am so tired from getting up all night that I have fallen asleep with a baby, who then rolled between my back and the dip in the bed, and only woke up when my husband noticed. Luckily my son was still alive. I wasn't intoxicated, just new-mom-tired.

We co-slept with all three of our children and there was not a single alarming event of any kind. DH sleeps like a log - he wakes up in the same posityion he went to sleep in - and I am an EXTREMELY light sleeper who breast fed all three into toddlehood, so it may be that it is safe for some parents and babies, and not for others.

This is definitely suspicious. How do you suffocate two babies in one night, much less one if you're doing this correctly? It's horrible that it's being blamed on co-sleeping. Recommendations for co-sleeping include that the baby is being breastfed (so mom and babies hormones are in tune and mama is more easily awoken by baby because of that) as well as not intoxicated. I read in another article that the mother had a headache and wasn't feeling well, which may have impaired her ability to respond/wakeup adequately (another requirement of safe co-sleeping would be that you're not so sick that you are impaired in this way)...but this is still UBER FISHY and doesn't make any sense at all.