This Popular Instagram Picture Pose Can Have Fatal Consequences For Your Baby

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Internet safety isn’t the only risk we should keep in mind when it comes to posting photos.

Instagram pictures like those of a Father asleep on a cozy rocking chair with his sleeping baby on his chest are just so adorable, isn’t it?

However, for some families, this innocent picture, unfortunately, turned tragic.

Dr. Sam Hanke was tending his 4-week-old baby boy Charlie when he nodded off, waking hours later to find his son had died.

Charlie was a healthy baby. “I just sat down on the couch to watch some TV and he was kind of sitting on my chest. We were just hanging out and I nodded off,” Hanke remembers. “A couple hours later I woke up and Charlie was gone.”

Many infants die from suffocation while on couches or armchairs, next to or under their dad. Often, this popular sleeping pose, while seemingly innocent, may accidentally lead to death when the father (or mother) fails to notice that the baby can’t get air.

The American Academy of Pediatrics states that ”Approximately 3,500 infants die annually in the United States from sleep-related infant deaths, including [SIDS],”.

No soft bedding and no co-sleeping are recommended by the Academy.

They also advise that infants should be placed face up on a firm surface.

When babies are co-sleeping with their dad on a couch, they are usually be positioned chest-to-chest and because parent and child are both sleeping, it’s easy for the baby to slowly slip down into the couch or into a position that blocks the baby’s airway.

You have to make sure your baby is in a safe position and not at risk of suffocation or SIDS. If you are holding your infant and feel drowsy, rather place your baby in a crib or playpen face up and away from fluffy blankets or toys, and then take your nap.

And of course, if you find your spouse asleep with your baby like this – sure, ok – snap a picture, but then move the baby to a safe place.