I am a mother of an 8 month old son. I also breastfeed my child. There are so many misconceptions about breastfeeding. The first few months were really hard and there were many sleepless nights. The only time my son would sleep is when I was holding him or he would be comforted by breastfeeding him. My husband and I finally made the decision that if my son and I were to get any decent sleep, I would just bring my son to bed with me and breastfeed him. I also spoke with my lacation consultant about this and she highly recommended me co-sleeping with my son. It worked for us and thank goodness nothing bad ever happened. But this is just a tragic story. Whoever commented on giving this mother alot of credit for breastfeeding is absolutely right. Not to say formula feeding is wrong either, it's a Mother's choice. I think any mother can relate to those first sleepless nights and if Mom can get sleep, she is much more rested for the next day. Every Mom or parent is different, in whether they choose to co-sleep with baby or not. This was obviously a terrible accident. My heart goes out to this Mother and her family. God Bless You!

Many people do not realize that many (not all) breastfeeding mothers are up twice as much for feedings as moms who bottle-feed. This young mother deserves credit for choosing to breastfeed in the first place! I fell asleep, or would catch myself doing so, many times during feedings. My condolences go out to this mother and family.

I have a six month old and in the first month of his life, I was so sleep deprived that I would fall asleep many times nursing, and my husband would be on watch to catch me if it happened, unfortuneately he was sleep deprived too, so there were many times I would awake finding myself and baby in the chair. Thank GOD someone was watching out for US, but unfortuneately, this mom was not so lucky. The guilt of falling asleep without harm done is bad enough, I can't imagine what this poor mommy is feeling. Just remember, it isn't your fault....sleep deprivation is a terrible thing....I pray for your healing!!

This is so sad. I too fell asleep nursing when my daughter was less than a month old. I must have rolled over and she fell off the bed. I was a mess! After I stayed up the rest of the night making sure she was ok but scared to death. I was hesitant to take her to the ER for fear they would accuse me of abusing her! Isn't that sad? Luckily she is a healthy and smart 6 year old so no damage done. I will be praying for the family.

my prayers are with the mom and the rest of the family. it's a tragedy, but as was posted here, many mothers, myself included, have fallen asleep with their baby. I hope you receive the help you need to work through the grief process.

My sympathies to the family for this terrible tragedy. Having breastfeed all 3 of my babies through their first years, I know how easy it is o fall asleep. This is just pure tragedy and I pray for this Mother. I hope she has good support/counseling to get past this horrible accident. It happens and it's sad.

First of all I want to express my deepest sympothy to the family in this situation. You are in my prayers.
Now,seriuosly to all the readers and people who have comments to share..why be so disrespectful when tragedy strikes.I didnt read cjsmom's comment but it was removed so that says something. And with the fire accident all the harsh and rude comments are unnessary. Have some respect!

All the so called experts on every subject known to man gotta give their two cents don't they?? Too bad more people don't give their children and loved one's the attention they give in these blog sites. Is this a tragic story?....you bet it is! Is there anything anyone can do? Nope. The baby is with God. So what else is there to say? Why attack each other in these sites? That's all these sites turn out to be! Why not focus that negativity into positive for a change and see if there isn't a difference that can be made in our society! Or, would that take too much humility by the people who have it all figured out in life? Your call.

i too breastfed both of my children and fell asleep while doing it. i guess i was lucky this did not happen to me. but im sure there is still a great deal of guilt felt by the mother and she needs to remember it was an accident. i feel so sorry for her loss. and as far as cjsmoms comment i didnt think there was anything rude or hurtful to the mom she was just simply trying to tell people of the risks

I breastfed both my children and yes, I fell asleep while nursing. It happened rarely but as tired as I was with as many sleepless nights as I had, it did happen. I'm not sure that there is a mother out there who has breastfed and managed to stay awake at every feeding. This could have happened to anyone.

Geez eetech, lay off a little. There was absolutely nothing wrong with cjsmom's comment. She wasn't bashing or critizing the mother at all. She has obviously seen or heard of mothers laying down while breast feeding and wanted people to be aware of the dangers of this. Of course this could happen while sitting up too. Regardless of how it happened, this was a horbile accident and cjsmom didn't suggest otherwise.

I can not imagine how this mother feels. I know how long those nights were with my daughter. I did not breast feed but I remember waking up in the middle of the night giving her a bottle and falling asleep and waking up two minutes later cuz I dropped her bottle. You get so exhausted even if you have help from a father or relative. I'm sorry for her loss.

cjsmom: The facts are not out there for you to assume this. She also does not need to hear it from anyone else on these blogs. I'm sure there is more guilt than you could ever imagine. Your comment was not justified and should be removed. There is a time and place to teach people about these things and this is not either the time or the place.
If you are a mother as your login implies you should remember the sleepless nights. All of those nights can take a toll on a mother and accidents do happen!