An Indiana woman has been charged in connection with killing her baby by falling asleep while breastfeeding.
Aaliyah Lykins faces two felony charges — reckless homicide and neglect of a dependent — for the death of her 2-week-old daughter.
Police were called to Lykins’ home in Muncie on Oct. 9, 2023, after Lykins called 911 to report that she fell asleep while breastfeeding and that her child had gone into cardiac arrest.
When first responders arrived, they found the child limp and unresponsive. Medical personnel said there were “no signs of respiration.” The infant was later pronounced dead.
A court affidavit stated that Lykins reportedly told EMS personnel, “Oh no, I did it again,” in response to the incident.
In October 2020, another child died while in Lykins’ care. According to WXIN, Lykins’ 2-month-old child suffocated while co-sleeping with her. She was never charged in that case, even though investigators drew up a probable cause affidavit.
She reportedly told officers that “she should not have placed (the child) in bed with her and that she knew it was wrong.”
In this most recent case, court documents state that “Lykins was fully aware of the danger of co-sleeping with her infant … as she had a prior born child die while co-sleeping.”
Lykins faces a few other pending court cases alongside this homicide case. According to Law & Crime, she was charged with battery, resulting in bodily injury to a pregnant woman and neglect of a dependent after an incident in January 2021.
She was also charged with neglect of a dependent once before when she crashed into an unattended car in November 2021 and then left the scene. Last February, authorities charged her with using a computer network or other form of electronic communication for harassment.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, roughly 3,500 infants die a year in the United States from sleep-related issues.
Co-sleeping with a newborn is very dangerous, according to Dr. Rebecca Reamy, medical director of the Pediatric Emergency Department at Columbus Regional Health System Midtown Medical Center. Most co-sleeping deaths are caused by suffocation, but the practice could also lead to babies rolling off the bed or becoming trapped between the mattress and headboard.
