HAMILTON COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE
A Cincinnati woman is wanted for involuntary manslaughter and endangering children charges after accidentally killing her newborn child while co-sleeping with the infant – the second time such an incident has happened in her care.
Brook Hunter had been previously warned by prosecutors to not co-sleep with her children after another child died last year from the same cause before this most recent tragedy, which took place earlier this summer.
Hunter was reportedly co-sleeping with her 6-month-old baby on June 22 where the child died as a result, according to FOX 19 and WCPO-0.
Co-sleeping, or bed-sharing, is described as when a parent sleeps in close physical contact with their child, typically in a bed or a couch or chair.
A Cincinnati woman has been indicted on involuntary manslaughter and endangering children charges after her newborn child died as a result of co-sleeping — the second child of hers to die from the warned-against activity.
On Wednesday, a warrant was issued for Hunter’s arrest, which remains active as of Friday.
A photo of Hunter from a different arrest was provided to the media.
On the practice of co-sleeping, the American Academy of Pediatrics says parents should not be “bed sharing with your baby under any circumstances.”
“If you bring your baby into your bed to feed or comfort them, place them in their own sleep space when you’re ready to go to sleep,” the AAP’s website reads. The organization also notes that the risk of sleep-related infant death while sharing a bed with a parent is “5 to 10 times higher when your baby is younger than 4 months olds.”
Even objects such as crib bumpers and mesh liners weren’t advised.
The AAP also tells parents to have “infants sleep in the parents’ room, close to the parents’ bed” but “on a separate surface designed for infants, ideally for at least the first six months.
