Baby Dies While Co-Sleeping With Parents

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Police in Case Grande are investigating the recent death of an infant who was co-sleeping with her parents.

The almost-2-month-old baby girl was found by Casa Grande police around 7 a.m. on Saturday after officers responded to a 9-1-1 call from a home in the 600 block of West Jardin Drive.

Officials attempted to perform CPR on the child while waiting for paramedics, said Thomas Anderson, Casa Grande Police Department spokesman.

When the paramedics arrived, the baby was taken via ambulance to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Anderson said that the parents had been co-sleeping with the baby.

Co-sleeping is basically a practice of having infants or babies sleep in the same beds with their parents.

Daphne Young, vice president of communications with Childhelp, a child advocacy center in Phoenix, told PinalCentral that the dangers of co-sleeping with infants and babies far outweigh any bonding benefits the family might gain.

“I know there are two camps about this, but with all of the risks, it’s a much better idea to keep them in a different environment,” Young said.

Young said that one of the dangers of co-sleeping is that parents can potentially roll onto the child without knowing it, which can cause the baby to suffocate.

Studies show that up to 50% of parents have said they’ve co-slept with their children.

“Having a separate space allows for a self-soothing area for the babies, allows parents time to sleep and overall promotes a healthy family,” Young said.

Anderson said that the Pinal County Medical Examiner’s Office will determine the cause of death and no charges have been filed at this time.