An unnamed mum from Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand has been charged with committing a criminal nuisance by sleeping in a bed with her son, who tragically died at the age of 10 weeks.
The 20-year-old has been charged on the grounds that she failed to discharge a legal duty, “namely keeping a baby safe from co-sleeping, knowing that such an omission would endanger the life” of the child.
The maximum prison sentence for such a charge in New Zealand is one year.
This is not the first case of its kind in the country in recent times. Back in 2013, a couple were also charged over the death of their newborn infant, who died after being placed in bed with his mother, who was intoxicated at the time.
This is such a tragic case for all involved, and it once again raises an important health and safety issue. There have been previous calls for a widespread health campaign to highlight the dangers of parents sharing a bed with their babies, and perhaps it's time that this topic was finally brought to the fore.
