Linda,

My husband is an ambulance officer and in the last two weeks there have been
two babies in his area die in bed with their parents. The district officer
(who attended the scence and with whom he was discussing this) described
both deaths as overlying deaths. My question to my husband was "how does he
know?" My bet is that that this could well be an assumption but that it will
be noted on the case sheets as inadvertant smothering by a parent (and will
go to the coronors court with that information). My husband and I discussed
in great detail how deaths of babies in beds with parents can happen and how
assumptions can be made, so if he ever gets called to one of these cases
he'll be aware of what to look for and what to ask but I doubt that there
are many Ambos who could.

Good luck with your battles!

Karleen Gribble
Australia



> I'm currently in a big fight with our County health officials over the
> pending release of an anti-bedsharing brochure. I'm in touch with James
> McKenna, of course. I'm trying to get a copy of the questionnaire that the
> police and coroner fill out when an infant dies, to see if they even ask
> about feeding, among other things. If anyone has successfully beaten down
> the "all bedsharing is lethal" crowd, please comment on Lactnet AND send a
> copy to me off-list. I know the arguments - I am looking for successful
> strategies for changing the policies and practices of investigators and
> bureaucrats.

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