Aaliyah Lykins, Indiana mother arrested after second baby also dies co sleeping in the same bed with parent, following death of other child 4 years earlier. Parent avoided charges in 2020 incident.
A 21-year-old Indiana mother has been charged in the ‘homicide death’ of her baby daughter after the girl dying co-sleeping with the parent.
Aaliyah Lykins, of Muncie, allegedly said ‘Oh no, I did it again,’ to first responders at the scene on Oct. 9, 2023 after she fell asleep while breastfeeding her two-week-old child, according to court docs obtained by McClatchy News.
Daughter Addilynn Lykins was pronounced dead at the hospital after efforts to resuscitate her failed.
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Mom conceded fully knowing of the dangers of co-sleeping with newborn
The child was found by medics “to be limp, with so signs of respiration,” a court affidavit filed on Feb. 15 stated, according to Fox 59.
The infant’s death was the second time in four years her newborn died while sleeping in the same bed with the mother, authorities said.
‘Lykins was fully aware of the danger of co-sleeping with her infant… as she had a prior born child die while co-sleeping,’ the affidavit reportedly states.
About four years prior, Lykins’ 7-week-old son, Aiden Lykins, died after she slept in bed with the baby, the affidavit states, the Star Press reported.
She allegedly admitted to police in 2020 ‘that she should not have placed Aiden in bed with her and that she knew it was wrong.’
While she faced no charges stemming from the earlier incident, Lykins was charged this month with reckless homicide and neglect of a dependent, both felonies, the newspaper reported.
The risks of bed-sharing with newborns
Lykins has had other past run-ins with the law still pending in court, including arrests for battery resulting in bodily injury to a pregnant woman, domestic battery with a deadly weapon and domestic battery resulting in serious bodily injury, the Star Press reported.
The case follows that of a Cincinnati, Ohio mother who was charged with involuntary manslaughter and endangering children after her second baby (a six week old child) died a co-sleeping death in June, 2022.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises new parents to have their newborn baby sleep in the same room as them, but not sleep in the same bed.
Bed-sharing increases the chance of suffocation, strangulation, and SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome). An adult bed has many safety risks for a baby, including: suffocation from a soft mattress, memory foam, waterbed, or loose or soft bedding such as pillows, blankets, or quilts.
While co-sleeping remains popular with parents, with studies showing that it the practise can be an important developmental context for encouraging and engaging in sensitive and responsive caregiving and providing a context for maternal-infant physiological synchrony and regulation – it also remains a controversial practise, and going against medical advise – particularly for newborns.
The American Academy of Pediatrics advises against bed-sharing, urging: It ‘should be avoided at all times’ with a ‘[full]-term normal-weight infant younger than 4 months.’
The practice can put babies at risk for sleep-related deaths such as sudden infant death syndrome, accidental suffocation and accidental strangulation, according to the organization.
About 3,700 babies die each year in the U.S. from sleep-related causes.
