Unlike my last mother-baby story (mother and newborn get free flights for life on AirAsia after mother gives birth onboard), this story does not have a happy ending:
A baby girl died when her mum fell asleep as she breast-fed on a jet.
The woman, 29, awoke after an hour to find the four-week-old had been smothered.
Cabin crew were alerted by the mum’s screams in business class, and the United Airlines jet – over the Atlantic at 33,000ft – was diverted to London’s Heathrow for an immediate landing.
A doctor on board the Washington DC to Kuwait flight tried in vain to resuscitate the girl…
Although I think the woman is guilty of negligence, I do not think locking her up is an appropriate response. Her punishment is the guilt she will have to live with every time she thinks about her now deceased daughter. I just completed an extensive research project last month on mothers who kill their children by accidentally leaving them locked in cars on hot days and I see parallels to this story. Unless evidence emerges that the mother’s actions were deliberate, I hope that she is left alone by the media and British authorities: I can only imagine the agony she and her family are going through tonight.
I post this semi-aviation related news item in hopes that by showcasing this example of needless death, we can prevent similar deaths in the future. Such a sad story…
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