A mum found her 11-week-old baby had died in the sling she was using to carry him against her chest, an inquest has heard. Briony Barwick noticed something was wrong with baby Toby when she saw a smear of blood.
He was unresponsive and despite the best efforts of emergency services, he was pronounced dead at hospital. Toby had been born with a low weight.
The inquest heard that Ms Barwick's pregnancy had been “relatively straightforward” aside from her concern that her bump was small. During her 36-week appointment, a sonographer said that Toby was “worryingly small”.
Arrangements were made for Ms Barwick to be induced at 37 weeks and Toby was born on November 24 weighing around 6lbs at birth. He required no treatment, reports MyLondon.
Over the coming weeks, Toby grew and took well to breast feeding. Toby’s parents opted to use a sling to carry him. Ms Barwick said: "The overwhelming message around slings was that it was a positive place for your child, there were no dangers or risks listed."
The sling manufacturer Baby K’tan provides a warning on the label on the risk of suffocation. “I do recall reading the label at some point, but I had been using the sling multiple times by that point,” Ms Barwick said. “The message didn’t land, I certainly wish to God I had taken onboard that it could have been fatal.”
On February 2, she woke Toby after a difficult night’s sleep and walked to her sister’s home. She added that prior to his death, he had been “playing and smiling, there was absolutely nothing to indicate this was about to happen”.
For the majority of the walk, Toby had been “screaming and crying at the top of his lungs” before falling asleep in the sling, with his face on his mum’s chest. “He was screaming the whole journey, I had no reason to believe anything was blocking his breathing,” Ms Barwick said.
After spending some time with her sister, Ms Barwick went to wake her son only to discover some blood on her chest. She began to scream and immediately tried to retrieve her son from the sling.
Emergency services were called at 2.15pm, with Ms Barwick, her sister and a neighbour helping with CPR. Paramedics arrived on scene a short while later and Toby was rushed to hospital where he was pronounced dead.
If parents are looking for support and guidance on slings and carries, you can visit your local sling library or babywearing consultant. There is also print resources and links to find local support at https://www.carryingmatters.co.uk/ and guidance available on the NHS, the NCT website and the Lullaby Trust.
The inquest continues.
