A mother’s quick response during the night might have prevented a tragedy after she woke to her baby daughter’s respiratory distress sounds. Casey Clute, hailing from upstate New York, provided footage from a Nest bedroom camera capturing the alarming moment her 4-month-old daughter, Madilyn, began choking after regurgitating in her sleep.
Casey, 34, recounted to Newsweek that the event took place around 12:30 a.m. “I constantly worry about my children’s safety, so I wasn’t certain if the noise I heard was genuinely my baby or merely my imagination,” Casey mentioned. With her husband, 30-year-old Joshua, at work, Casey chose not to take any chances. The couple also has a 3-year-old daughter named Charlotte. “Something within me urged me to wake up,” Casey recalled. “So I opened my eyes briefly, and hearing her gasping, I immediately sprang into action.”
The footage, later shared on TikTok (@mama_casey02), displays Casey rapidly lifting Madilyn by her armpit upon realizing she was choking. Luckily, Casey’s prior CPR training came into play. “I placed her face down on my chest and started gently patting her back to clear the spit-up,” she explained. In her TikTok clip, Casey noted how her parental instincts were “tested” during the crisis.
Once Madilyn resumed normal breathing, Casey carefully evaluated the sleeping area. “I saw that my toddler had thrown two stuffed animals into the bassinet, which I promptly removed, understanding their risk with such a young baby,” she shared.
A 2019 study in Pediatrics examined infant suffocation deaths reported to the U.S. Sudden Unexpected Infant Death Case Registry, revealing soft bedding as the primary cause in 69% of cases. The study suggested that improving sleep conditions could lessen infant suffocation incidents. The American Academy of Pediatrics advises placing infants on their backs for all sleep on firm, flat, non-inclined surfaces, and recommends against having pillows, blankets, stuffed animals, or any soft objects in a baby’s sleep space.
Though immediate danger was averted, sleep eluded Casey afterward. “It was undeniably frightening, but I’m thankful I heard her and prevented a disaster,” Casey stated. This experience also shifted her future plans. With her maternity leave ending, Casey and Joshua had intended for their daughter to transition to her own room, or possibly share with her older sister, due to Casey’s early work schedule. Now, following this incident, she has reconsidered. “This has shown me that, regardless of preparation levels, unforeseen events can occur swiftly,” Casey remarked. “I truly believe if she were in another room that night, the outcome might have been fatal. To ensure her safety, we will keep her with us for now.”