Bode and Morgan Miller speak out after daughter's drowning

The 19-month-old daughter of U.S. Olympic skier Bode Miller drowned in an Orange County swimming pool. Photo / Newscorp.

Former American Olympic ski champion Bode Miller and his wife Morgan are doing all they can to raise awareness about the dangers of drowning after the death of their 19-month-old daughter.

In an emotional interview on NBC's Today show, Miller spoke out about what he sees as a lack of information surrounding the matter.

"It's the number one way that you could potentially lose your kid," the 40-year-old skier said.

"If it's number one for me, I want to know about it. I've been to all the paediatrician meetings and check-ups on our kids — I can't say it's come up one time. Not a single time. "

Bode and Morgan believe the tragic topic should be at the forefront of conversations for new parents.

"This should be the number one thing that we talk about," Morgan said.

"And the same way we check off those milestones for — is your child walking, how many words does your child have — that next question is, have you started swim lessons?

"Putting that in the parents' head as not only do you need to have these barriers but you need to be hyper aware."

The couple announced the passing of their daughter Emeline in mid June, with Bode taking to his personal Instagram page with an emotional post.

"We are beyond devastated. Our baby girl, Emmy, passed away yesterday. Never in a million years did we think we would experience a pain like this," the post read.

"Her love, her light, her spirit will never be forgotten. Our little girl loved life and lived it to it's fullest everyday. Our family respectfully requests privacy during this painful time."

View this post on Instagram

We want to thank our friends, family and every one of you who sent a message, said a prayer or donated for the overwhelming expression of support - we are truly touched and blessed. Our midwives started a gofundme campaign to raise funds and we intend to donate these funds raised to worthwhile causes connected to water safety education. We are inspired to make our baby girls memory go forth and help prevent as many drownings as possible. We will post more soon on our plans and efforts.

A post shared by Bode Miller (@millerbode) on Jun 19, 2018 at 6:22pm PDT

Morgan and Emeline were visiting a neighbour when she fell into the pool and drowned "in the blink of an eye" according to Bode, who wasn't home at the time.

"A child under 30 pounds can drown in 30 seconds and I just keep counting the 30 in my head. That was all I needed," Morgan said.

"It's one of those things where as a parent now when you go to someone else's house, survey the home to see if it's a safe place for your child to be."

Since the tragic incident the couple have dedicated their time to raising awareness for parents. A GoFundMe page was set up on their behalf by midwife, Lindsey Meehleis.

Within four days of the page being set up donations had reached over 50 per cent of the intended $40,000 target ($AUD53,591).

But the backlash began to grow over the fundraising efforts with many users pointing to the millions Bode had earned during his career.

In his most recent Instagram post, Bode stated the money being raised in the campaign would be donated to "worthwhile causes connected to water safety education".

"We want to thank our friends, family and every one of you who sent a message, said a prayer or donated for the overwhelming expression of support — we are truly touched and blessed," the post read.

"Our midwives started a gofundme campaign to raise funds and we intend to donate these funds raised to worthwhile causes connected to water safety education. We are inspired to make our baby girls memory go forth and help prevent as many drownings as possible. We will post more soon on our plans and efforts."

A recent study by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed 10 people a day die in non-boating related drownings and 20 per cent of those victims are 14 or younger.