Exhaustion is synonymous with motherhood, especially during the newborn phase of life. Falling asleep at random times is fairly common, which is why moms often need around-the-clock support when caring for an infant. Sadly, one mom’s exhaustion ended up costing her her son’s life, and she’s sharing her story so others won’t suffer.
Rebekka Card, 27, mom of two, told People that every mother’s worst nightmare began for her in the middle of the night when she was breastfeeding her youngest son, Hayden, just before dawn.
“I nursed him around 9.15 p.m. and put him down in his DockATot,” she said. “He never really took a bottle, he always wanted to nurse.”
The DockATot was recommended by her pediatrician as a “safe sleeping” alternative by perching it next to the bed to prevent the baby from being rolled onto.
When he stirred in the middle of the night Card recalled picking up her son and breastfeeding him. It was at some point during the feeding that the tired mom fell asleep.
“I was kind of sitting up, but slouched. Hayden had ended up between me and my husband,” she explained, per People. “The next thing I remember is my husband asking, ‘Where’s Hayden?’ He was still warm when I picked him up.”
The couple tried CPR and called paramedics to rush him to the hospital. Card and her husband were separated by officials to undergo questioning before they were taken to the hospital.
“Two doctors and a nurse came in. I knew. I could see it in their faces. They told us he hadn’t made it,” she further explained. “I begged them to let me see him, and they wouldn’t. They treated us like we’d done something.”
Hours of questioning later, Card said she was allowed to finally say goodbye to her son. His cause of death was attributed to SIDS, and Card noted that the autopsy report mentioned the sleep positioner causing the baby not to breathe.
Now, Card is determined to bring awareness to the dangers of bed sharing in any way, with her raw and unfiltered POV on social media.
“When I started sharing, other mums began reaching out to me. Even women who weren’t mums yet said they connected with what I was going through,” she said.
