HOSPITAL HORROR: Baby Suffocated When Exhausted Mum Fell Asleep

A three-day-old baby was smothered by his exhausted mum when she fell asleep on top of him after begging nurses to take him so she could rest.

Picture shows the Sandro Pertini hospital in Rome, Italy, undated. A newborn died at the hospital after the mother tired from giving birth, was not given help and fell asleep and crushed her baby in the night between Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 7 and 8, 2023. (Google Maps/Newsflash)

The tiny newborn was found suffocated at the hospital in the Italian capital Rome in the early hours of 8th January after medical staff ignored her plea.

His devastated 30-year-old mum told Italian media: “I was still very weary, rather tired from giving birth on 5th January after 17 hours of labour.

“I had gone to the hospital the previous day. We had chosen Sandro Pertini Hospital because I was fond of the place, as I was born there too.

“For two nights – the one after giving birth and the next one – I managed, with difficulty, to keep my baby close to me.”

She added: “I was upset. I asked the nurses for help, asking them if they could take him just for a while.

“However I was always told that it wasn’t possible to take him to the nursery. And the same happened on Saturday night.

“In fact, I felt worse than I had the previous days. I asked them again to take the baby. They didn’t.

“For two nights I held out. On the last night I was really tired. ‘It’s not possible’, I was told once again.”

The new mum ended up falling asleep from exhaustion while she was breastfeeding her healthy infant son.

She slumped on top of him, depriving him of air.

The mum said: “Suddenly, in the middle of the night, I was woken up by the nurses. my baby was no longer in bed with me.

“Without saying a word to me, they made me get up and took me to a nearby room: there they informed me that my baby was dead.

“I don’t remember a psychologist being present, nor them giving me a more in-depth explanation. They certainly didn’t tell me how it had happened.

“At that point I didn’t understand anything anymore. It all came crashing down around me. Maybe I even passed out.”

The public prosecutor’s office has now opened a case against unknown persons for manslaughter.

A worker at the hospital told media that despite a staff shortage that night, several nurses, a paediatrician, and an anaesthetist did all they could to try to save the infant.

Picture shows the Sandro Pertini hospital in Rome, Italy, undated. A newborn died at the hospital after the mother tired from giving birth, was not given help and fell asleep and crushed her baby in the night between Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 7 and 8, 2023. (Google Maps/Newsflash)

Police are now working to identify more suspects.