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By Daniella Gray
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A mom's quick reaction in the middle of the night may have prevented a tragedy after she woke to the sound of her baby daughter struggling to breathe.
Casey Clute, from upstate New York, shared footage captured by a Nest bedroom camera showing the frightening moment her 4-month-old daughter, Madilyn, began choking after spitting up in her sleep.
Casey, 34, told Newsweek that the incident happened at around 12:30 a.m.
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"I am a very paranoid parent and always worried something will happen to my children, so I wasn’t sure if the noise I heard was actually my baby or just my mind playing tricks on me," Casey said.
With her husband, 30-year-old Joshua, at work, Casey wasn't taking any chances. The couple also shares 3-year-old Charlotte.
"Something in me told me to wake up," Casey said. "So I opened my eyes for a second and I heard her gasping for air and shot right up."
The footage, later posted in a clip on TikTok (@mama_casey02), shows Casey quickly grabbing Madilyn by her armpit before realizing she was choking.
Fortunately, Casey had taken several CPR classes and immediately knew how to respond.
"I put her on my chest face down and immediately started patting her back to make sure she got the spit up all out," she said.
In the text overlay, Casey wrote how her maternal instincts were "tested" during the ordeal.
After Madilyn began breathing normally again, Casey carried out a careful check of the sleep area.
"I noticed my toddler had thrown two stuffed animals in there and immediately took those out because they are dangerous to have in a bassinet with a baby so young," she said.
A 2019 peer-reviewed study published in Pediatrics examined infant suffocation deaths reported to the U.S. Sudden Unexpected Infant Death Case Registry and found that soft bedding was the most common mechanism, accounting for 69 percent of the suffocation cases studied. The researchers concluded that safer sleep environments could help reduce infant suffocation deaths.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that babies be placed on their backs for every sleep on a firm, flat, non-inclined surface. It also advises parents to keep the sleep space free of pillows, blankets, stuffed animals and other soft objects that could obstruct an infant's airway.
Although the immediate danger had passed, sleep was not easy to come by for the mom of two afterward.
"It definitely was a scary situation, but I am grateful I was able to hear her and save her from a potential tragedy," Casey said.
The experience also changed her plans for the months ahead.
With her maternity leave ending this week, Casey and Joshua had been preparing to move their daughter into her own room, or potentially have her share a room with her older sister, because she needs to wake up early for work.
Now, she has decided against it.
"This event has taught me that anything can happen in an instant no matter how prepared you are," Casey said. "I truly believe if she were in a room by herself and not next to me when this occurred, she would have choked to death. So to be extremely cautious, we will be keeping her in our bedroom with us from now on."
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Charlotte Nisbet and Emma Lee-Sang
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