Warning over breastfeeding approach after seven-week-old boy dies

A parenting charity has warned that ‘hands-free’ breastfeeding is unsafe after a seven-week-old died while being fed in a sling.

James ‘Jimmy’ Alderman was being breastfed by his mother, Ellie, inside a sling that she wore ‘snugly’, not tightly – she could even see his face when looking down.

While she was feeding Jimmy, who was six weeks and six days old, Ellie moved around their home but after five minutes she realised he had collapsed.

Resuscitation began immediately, but he sadly died in a hospital three days later on October 11, 2023, from suffocation.

The National Childbirth Trust (NCT) and the Lullaby Trust have now announced a ‘rapid change’ to their guidance on the practice following an inquest concerning his death.

Lydia Brown, Senior Coroner for West London, warned that there was ‘insufficient information’ for parents about the safe positioning of young babies in carriers, particularly when it came to breastfeeding.

George Alderman, Jimmy’s father, said the move was a ‘good first step’ but ‘mixed with sadness’ as it took his son’s passing for guidance to be changed.

Mr Alderman, 38, added that he was ‘grateful’ changes were being made and that the family had felt ‘strongly’ about updated guidance during the inquest process.

He said: ‘We are really pleased that the Lullaby Trust and the NCT have updated their guidance, it was definitely something that through the inquest process we felt strongly about.

‘It is a good reaction to what the coroner said, it is a good first step but we still feel there are other things that need to change that will take a bit longer.’

The Aldermans want to see a warning about breastfeeding on sling labels. 

Mr Alderman said: ‘We are really happy that positive changes are starting to happen but obviously it is mixed with sadness.

‘Why did it have to be us, why did it have to be Jimmy for something to change?

‘We are grateful things are happening but it is just a shame these things weren’t being done before it, maybe we would have been more aware.’

Last year the Aldermans raised almost £19,000 for St George’s Hospital, Momentum Children’s Charity and Kingston Hospital Charity by organising events under the name Jimmy’s Cuddle.

Following the inquest the NCT and the Lullaby Trust issued a joint response promising to make ‘rapid change’ to their guidance and inform those expecting a baby that hands-free breastfeeding is ‘always unsafe’.

In a Prevention of Future Deaths Report, the coroner said: ‘Baby Jimmy was being breastfed within a baby carrier worn by his mother.

‘After five minutes she found that he was collapsed and although immediate resuscitation was commenced he died three days later on 11 October 2023 in St George’s Hospital.

‘Jimmy died because his airway was occluded as he was not held in a safe position while within the sling.

‘There is insufficient information available from any source to inform parents of safe positioning of young babies within carriers and in particular in relation to breastfeeding.’

Babywearing – where a child is strapped into a harness or wrapped in a sling so they can be carried by a parent hands-free, is popular. 

But critics warn of the risk of suffocation because babies cannot lift their own heads if incorrectly positioned.

This risk is increased for babies who are premature or have a low birth weight.

The NCT, which provides classes for expecting parents, now say babies should always be taken out of a carrier to feed and that the practice is also a trip hazard.

Their website reads: ‘Using a sling for at least an hour a day is linked to more frequent breastfeeding (the baby should always be taken out of the carrier to feed) 

‘”Hands-free” breastfeeding or bottle feeding, where the wearer moves around and does other jobs while the baby is feeding, is unsafe.

‘This is especially true for babies under four months old. It also applies to babies born prematurely or those with a health condition. Moving around with loose sling fabric could also be a trip hazard.

‘If the baby needs to feed, take them out of the sling. When they have finished feeding, either return them to the sling or put the baby down in a safe space.’

Ms Brown concluded that Jimmy suffered an accidental death as a result of hypoxic brain injury, out of hospital cardiac arrest and accidental suffocation.

The NCT previously said that you could breastfeed a baby in a sling but that the baby should be supported at all times.

This advice was rated as ‘unhelpful’ by Ms Brown, she also noted there was no guidance in NHS literature on the subject.

NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care have responded to Ms Brown’s report with the NHS promising to make their advice on safe baby-wearing more accessible and linked to breastfeeding guidance.