5-Day-Old Baby Chokes To Death On Breastmilk After Mother Falls Asleep While Feeding Him

A newborn baby in Zambia choked to death on breastmilk after his mother allegedly fell asleep while feeding the baby.

Police and paramedics responded to a report of an unresponsive baby Wednesday evening. The boy, identified as 5-day-old Taurai Mugala, was pronounced dead at the scene.

The boy’s mother, identified as Rose Mugala, said she fell asleep while breastfeeding the child. When she woke up two hours later, she found the baby unresponsive with milk oozing through his nostril.

"Fact of the matter is that Rose started breastfeeding her baby on Nov. 25 around 5 p.m. on her bed but fell asleep and woke up around 7 p.m. only to find her child dead with the breast still in the child’s mouth and breast milk oozing through the nostril," Zambia Police Deputy Spokesperson Danny Mwale told local news outlet Mwebantu.

The officers inspected the baby’s body and found no physical injuries. They believe the baby died after choking on breastmilk.

The body has been sent for an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death. Police were awaiting the autopsy results as of Friday morning.

It remained unclear if the mother will face any charges in connection with the incident.

The incident comes months after an infant in Belize was accidentally squeezed to death by his mother while she experienced an epileptic attack. Tracey Webstar was nursing her three-month-old baby at their home when she suffered an attack. As soon as the woman recovered, she took the baby to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. Medical tests confirmed that she did have an epileptic attack.