Babies' deaths point to dangers of sharing parents' beds

A mother who lost a newborn to suffocation wiped away tears as she listened yesterday to details of a second baby's death as he slept in her bed.

Jahkairal Horizon Cruz Wiremu Morunga was 17 days old when he died at the Mangere home of his mother Rachel Morunga, her partner Gregory Warrington, a cousin and six older siblings, aged four to 14 years.

The inquest into Jahkairal's death heard that Ms Morunga's two-day-old daughter, Jodie Lee, died in 1994 after inhaling food as she was breastfed by her mother, who fell asleep.

The medical cause of Jahkairal's death on March 13 could not be ascertained but forensic pathologist Dr Lloyd Denmark could not exclude the possibility the baby had suffocated.

The day before Jahkairal died, he was taken on a family outing to fish from under the Auckland Harbour Bridge. That afternoon, Mr Warrington took Jahkairal and two siblings, aged 10 and 5 years, to the Stars Bar in Otahuhu.

The children remained in the car while Mr Warrington watched a Warriors league game in the bar.

The family returned home in the early evening and Jahkairal was placed in his mother's queen-sized bed around 11pm, said police inquest officer Senior Constable Heather Ruddell.

Jahkairal would usually sleep in his mother's bed with her and a four-year-old sibling, she said.

Ms Morunga lay down beside the baby and four-and-a-half hours later she found him lifeless. She drove him to Middlemore Hospital but attempts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful.

His death was one of three baby fatalities heard by coroner Sarn Herdson yesterday which involved the children sharing a bed with their parents.

* Te Wa Aranga O Te Tau Reid Whakawhiti Ngaruhe Rogers, known as Aranga, was aged five weeks when he died at his grandparents' Mangere home on May 13.

Aranga was staying at the house with his parents, maternal grandparents and extended family.

The night before he died, Aranga was sleeping on a couch but started to wake up around 10.30pm and was picked up by his aunt. He fell back to sleep and she placed him on pillows on the lounge floor.

At some stage during the night, the baby's grandfather picked him up and took him to bed with himself, his wife and another grandchild.

Around 4am, Aranga was picked up from the bed by his mother, Tania, and placed between her and his father, Raymond Rogers, in their bed.

He was found lifeless around 6.30am. The medical cause of death could not be ascertained but forensic pathologist Dr Simon Stables said he could not exclude the possibility of accidental suffocation.

* Similarly, the medical cause of death of seven-month-old Harmony Mezlinz Maliya Tafili could not be ascertained by a pathologist.

The Papatoetoe baby also died in her parents' bed.

A Plunket nurse who visited Harmony between November 2005 and March 2006 had identified Sudden Infant Death Syndrome risk factors - including the baby sleeping on her stomach during the day, bed sharing and smoking in the home - and spoke to her mother, Kristy Tongatama.

Dr Denmark said the possibility of "an accidental overlaying by a parent" could not be excluded as a cause of death.

REDUCING THE RISK

The Ministry of Health says parents can reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome by not sharing their bed if they have:

* Smoked during pregnancy,

* Are overtired,

* Have been drinking alcohol,

* Taking prescription or other drugs that may slow their reactions.