An infant died in London while breastfeeding in a baby sling, and his family wants to warn other parents. James Alderman, lovingly known as Jimmy, died in October 2023 after a breastfeeding session. He was inside a sling carrrier worn by his mother. Jimmy was a day shy of 7 weeks old when he died. His father, George Alderman, believes the baby sling is to blame.
The grieving father told Sky News the couple thought the baby sling was a good option to feed their son. They had no idea he would die. Now, the family wants change to protect other families from experiencing this tragedy.
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Alderman and Jimmy's mom felt confident with the baby sling.
The father told Sky News, “Baby slings are sold as being a lifesaver, allowing you to get on with your business while your baby’s safe and close to you, but in this instance, we had our baby close, but not safe.”
Instead, an inquest into Jimmy’s death found the baby’s position in the sling was unsafe, and he was too far down in the sling.
Alderman wasn't aware of the many dangers of using a baby sling.
He explained to Sky News that he and Jimmy’s mom had heard advice about ensuring the sling wasn’t too tight. He didn’t know about the sling being too loose, which could cause a baby to slump down.
Jimmy reportedly fell asleep while nursing, and his head was against his chest.
“Nothing was covering his face, but because of the position he was in, that meant that not enough oxygen was going into his lungs because he was small and not fully developed, and that’s why he stopped breathing,” Alderman told the news outlet.
The family attempted to save Jimmy.
They immediately began to try to resuscitate him, but he died three days later, on October 11, 2023. Alderman said car seats have many regulations in the United Kingdom, but carriers and slings do not.
“Some use weighted dolls, some use bags of sand. How a bag of sand can accurately represent a baby, I just don’t know,” he said.
An inquest into Jimmy's death found issues with baby slings.
The BBC reported that during the inquest, West London Senior Coroner Lydia Brown called for industry standards for sling safety.
“There appeared to be no helpful visual images of ‘safe’ versus ‘unsafe’ sling/carrier postures,” she said adding that, “the NHS available literature provides no guidance or advice In my opinion action should be taken to prevent future deaths,” she said.
The Lullaby Trust, an organization committed to providing information on safe sleep told the BBC, “The safest baby carrier to use will keep the infant firmly in an upright position where a parent can always see their baby’s face, and ensure their airways are free.”
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Jimmy's family wants to honor his memory.
They created Jimmy’s Cuddle, an organization that raises money for families of sick children in need.
According to the website, “We lost our son, Jimmy, in October 2023 aged just seven weeks. Our littlest boy gave the best cuddles and we now want to pass those on to other families whose children may be ill, or to those parents who’ve also lost their child, by supporting charitable causes in his memory.”
