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Mother Whose Daughter Died in a Carseat Warns of The Dangers of Its Misuse

One mother who lost her 17-month daughter as she slept in a carseat is speaking out on the dangers of its misuse. Children should not be allowed to nap in carseats unless they’re in a car, or their life is at risk.
Lisa Smith warns parents not to let children sleep in a carseat placed on a flat surface 6 photos
Photo: Today.com
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Lisa Smith’s daughter Mia died during her sleep, as she spent the day at her babysitter’s home, back in 2015. The police report noted that the child had been partially strapped in the seat, which had been placed on a flat surface and left in a dark room unattended, Smith recalls in a new interview with The Today Show.

Carseats are meant to be used exclusively in cars, and it is only then when children are safe to fall asleep. Each seat has a base which allows to adjust its angle, so if the baby does fall asleep, his or her airways are not obstructed.

This doesn’t happen when you place the seat on a flat surface, which Mia’s babysitter did: because of the position of the seat, the body slumps forward and the airways become blocked. Mia’s cause of death was positional asphyxia.

“Positional asphyxia is when the baby’s sleeping position prevents him or her from breathing adequately,”
Dr. Natalie Azar, an NBC News medical contributor, tells The Today. “When a car seat is in the car, it’s reclined at 45 degrees. This allows the baby’s head and neck to rest backwards so that it’s not slumped forward and blocking the airway.”

Since the tragedy, Smith has been working to raise awareness on the dangers of misusing carseats. She says she sees parents using them as baby carriers in restaurants or even supermarkets, with babies sleeping in them in this unnatural, dangerous position.

Over the past 4 years, 31 children have died in carseats, the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association notes – and 10 of these cases were due to positional asphyxia. It turns out parents aren’t even aware of this risk because many don’t bother to read the instructions that come with the seat.

“Losing a child, it’s beyond soul-crushing,” Smith says, fighting back tears. “The hardest part is that this was so easily prevented. And we lost a daughter needlessly. No family deserves this.”

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About the author: Elena Gorgan
Elena Gorgan profile photo

Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends.
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