Three-month-old baby girl dies in possible co-sleeping incident

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office says a three-month-old infant found dead on Saturday, July 7th died as a result of a possible co-sleeping incident.

The Medical Examiner's report says the infant was found unresponsive in his mother's arms in her bed. The report does say it is unclear whether the baby may have already died before his mother picked him up and took him to bed with her.

The baby was found dead at St. Catherine's Residence for Women on E. Knapp Street early Saturday morning.

According to St. Catherine's website, the facility: "provides affordable, safe, and supportive housing for any woman seeking a friendly, attractive environment within which to gain confidence, interpersonal skills, networking & knowledge."

The Medical Examiner's report says a paramedic reported the baby was fine early Saturday morning, and then the baby's mother took him to bed, and when she woke up, the baby was dead.

The report says the baby was born at 37 weeks via C-section and spent six weeks in the NICU because he had to withdraw from methadone.

The report says the baby's mother told officials she had been addicted to heroin, and when she learned she was pregnant, she enrolled in a methadone program.

According to the Medical Examiner's report, the baby's mother was on methadone for eight months, and spent about four months up north for prenatal care before coming to Milwaukee and living at the Meta House, which is a house for recovering drug addicts.

The report says the baby's mother had lived at St. Catherine's for about two months.

The report indicates the baby was getting home visits from a Wheaton Franciscan nurse, who had recently ended her visits, and that the baby was also being monitored by a case worker.

According to the report, the baby's mother told officials the baby had a normal day on Friday, July 6th -- taking a bottle and sleeping through the night, though his mother said he normally sleeps for about three hours at a time.

The baby's mother told officials she placed the baby in his Pack 'n Play and watched television until she fell asleep, according to the report.

The baby's mother said she woke up to check on the baby, and picked him up from the Pack 'n Play and attempted to feed him, but he would not take a bottle. Assuming the baby was asleep, his mother told officials she laid down with him on her bed -- according to the report.

The report says the baby's mother fell asleep for what she estimates to be an hour, at which time she woke up and could not get the baby to wake up.

The report says at this time, she attempted CPR on the bed, and shortly thereafter, noted blood from his nose and picked him up and ran downstairs.

The baby's mother told officials the baby normally sleeps in his Pack 'n Play, and always on his back, though she did admit to taking him to bed with her before, according to the report.