We used a common baby aid for our beautiful newborn boy then he died in it – it tore our lives apart and every parent should listen to our warning

A heartbroken father whose newborn baby boy accidentally suffocated to death in a breastfeeding sling has told of his anguish – and issued a warning to other parents.

James Alderman – known as ‘Jimmy’ – was being breastfed within a baby carrier worn by his mother, Ellie, as she prepared to take him to his cousin’s second birthday party.

But devastatingly unbeknown to Ellie, 39, Jimmy had slipped into an unsafe position too far down in the sling while she walked around the house and started to suffocate. 

The youngster collapsed after five minutes, sparking a frantic attempt by Jimmy’s panicked parents to revive him before paramedics arrived and took over. 

Tragically, Jimmy died three days later on October 11, 2023, aged just seven weeks -with a coroner this week warning that ‘very little’ safety information is available to parents about the risks of baby slings. 

Now speaking out for the first time, Jimmy’s grieving father George Alderman has described how his family’s life has been ripped apart by the accident – and that he and his wife are ‘living every parents’ worst nightmare’.  

‘The slings look so innocuous and are sold as being something extremely helpful for busy parents,’ the emotional 38-year-old from Surrey told MailOnline – adding: ‘The last thing you think of is that your child is going to die in them.

‘They’re pushed as a lifesaver but in the most extreme cases it’s exactly the opposite thing.’

On the day of the tragedy, George was packing the car and getting his oldest son, Arthur, ready, while wife Ellie was looking after Jimmy.

They were meant to be celebrating George’s niece’s second birthday.

‘Everything was fine one moment and then the next it was the worst thing that could ever happen,’ George said. 

Recalling the tragedy, he added: ‘I could hear Jimmy feeding and he was fine. I was out there for no more than a couple of minutes putting the buggy away.

‘Then I got to the front door and I could hear Ellie was stressed. She had Jimmy half out the sling and he was lying back and was white… he was not breathing.’

Panicked, they called 999 and started giving Jimmy CPR to try and save his life.

Within minutes, the family’s former ground floor flat in Surbiton, south-west London, was full of paramedics and police as emergency crews battled to save the youngster. 

Jimmy had to be revived on the way to Kingston Hospital before he was transferred to the intensive care unit at St George’s Hospital.

‘You ask yourself why would this happen to us and why would this happen to Jimmy… It’s every parent’s worst nightmare and we were living it,’ George added.

‘It’s something I think about every day. It will stay with me forever.’

Following advice from medics, the family eventually took the crushing decision to switch off Jimmy’s life-support machine.

‘We had come to the point where we realised there was nothing that could be done,’ George said. ‘We were sitting there hoping for a miracle. But there was no sign of that. It didn’t seem fair on Jimmy that he was lying there with all these tubes in him.’ 

This week, a coroner issued a stark warning to the NHS that babies are at risk from the growing trend to place infants in ‘hands-free’ breastfeeding slings. 

Lydia Brown, senior coroner for West London, said there’s ‘insufficient information’ for parents about the safe positioning of young babies in carriers, particularly when it comes to breastfeeding.

Copies of her Prevention of Future Deaths Report were sent to sling manufacturer Beco and Madeleine Boot, a babywearing teacher.

Ms Brown has called for industry standards promoting the safe use of slings and warnings about their risks because there is a danger that young babies could suffocate.

It’s a move that’s backed by George and his wife, who have been desperately trying to raise awareness of the hidden dangers of such slings. 

In a warning to parents, George added: ‘I wouldn’t put a child who was four months or under in a baby sling. It’s just not worth the risk. However, minimal the risk might be.’

He said manufacturers provided limited advice on how to keep the baby safe in the carriers – and claimed there was very little help offered to new parents from the NHS.

‘If you go on any website for the slings, you look at the frequently asked questions and where it says “can I breastfeed in them”, they just say “yes you can” – that’s it.

‘You as a parent are left to work it out yourself… As a family this just doesn’t make sense there could be such a big gap in knowledge, awareness and safety advice when these slings are used so frequently.’

Appealing for the industry to put a standard set of safety rules in place, that are easy to find for parents, he added: ‘It seems crazy this isn’t already in place… it needs to happen – yesterday.’ 

Babywearing is a popular phenomenon, worth almost a billion pounds globally, where a child is strapped into a harness or wrapped in a sling so they can be carried by a parent hands-free.

Supporters of the technique, which has been practiced around the world for a millennia, say it is practical and helps babies bond with their parents through close contact.

However, critics warn of the risk of suffocation because babies cannot lift their own heads if incorrectly positioned.

This risk is increased for babies who are premature or have a low birth weight.

An inquest heard that Jimmy died on October 11 2023 after being accidentally suffocated.

The baby, who was six weeks and six days old when the incident happened on October 8, was feeling well other than having a slight cold.

His mother was breastfeeding him within a sling which was worn ‘snugly’, not tightly, and although she could see his face when she looked down, he was too far down for this position to be safe.

The coroner said: ‘Baby Jimmy was being breastfed within a baby carrier worn by his mother.

‘After five minutes she found that he was collapsed and although immediate resuscitation was commenced he died three days later on October 11 2023 in St George’s Hospital.

‘Jimmy died because his airway was occluded as he was not held in a safe position while within the sling.

‘There is insufficient information available from any source to inform parents of safe positioning of young babies within carriers and in particular in relation to breastfeeding.’

A UK consortium of sling retailers and manufacturers have shared an acronym, TICKS, to establish safe positioning for babies in slings.

The acronym created by the, now disbanded, group stands for Tight, In view at all times, Close enough to kiss, Keep chin off the chest and Supported back.

Ms Brown noted that there was no advice for parents regarding the risk of babies slumping in carriers, and the consequent risk of suffocation, particularly in babies under the age four months.

This is despite a ‘significant increase’ over recent years in the use of such equipment, she said.

Ms Brown also found that there is no public advice that hands-free breastfeeding young babies is unsafe because of the risk of suffocation and not being able to to meet every TICKS requirement.

The coroner added that the available NHS literature provides no guidance or advice.

Ms Brown said there appeared to be no helpful images of ‘safe’ versus ‘unsafe’ sling and carrier postures.

She said the only ‘tips’ available are on the National Childbirth Trust (NCT) website, ‘but these are in fact unhelpful’.

They say that you can breastfeed a baby in a sling but that the baby should be supported at all times.

Witnesses at the inquest said information readily available to the public which is not too complex but consistent in its messaging would be welcomed to advise and instruct parents.

Ms Brown warned there is a risk of deaths occurring again in the future if no action is taken.

‘There is very little information available to inform parents of safety and positioning advice of young babies in carriers/slings and in particular nothing in relation to breastfeeding in carriers/slings,’ she said.

‘This is notwithstanding a significant increase over recent years in the use of such equipment.

‘The question of whether it is safe to breastfeed ‘hands free’ is not addressed or referred to in the public domain or manufacturers literature.

‘The NHS available literature provides no guidance or advice.

‘The only current ‘tips’ are provided on the National Childbirth Trust (NCT) website but these are in fact unhelpful

‘Young babies are at risk of suffocation.

‘Consideration should be given to industry standards to promote the safe use of slings/carriers, to warn users of the risks and whether any such standards should be voluntary or mandatory.’  

Ms Brown concluded that Jimmy suffered an accidental death as a result of hypoxic brain injury, out of hospital cardiac arrest and accidental suffocation.

NHS England, the Department of Health and Social Care, the Office for Product Safety and Standards and the British Standards Institution are required to respond to Ms Brown’s report by February 21 2025.

Jimmy’s family is determined his death will not be in vain, setting up the campaign site, ‘Jimmy’s Cuddle‘.

Since the tragedy, they have drummed up more than £17,000 for St George’s Hospital Charity through a series of fundraising exploits.

They’ve also helped raise cash and awareness for children’s charity, Momentum – which supported them after Jimmy’s death – and Shooting Star children’s hospices, which looks after children with terminal or life-limiting conditions. 

As well as staging a charity cricket match over the summer and an auction, George also completed the Royal Parks Half Marathon in October.

Friends have joined in, too, with one carrying out a wing-walk to help raise cash. 

In all, their exploits have raised almost £19,000 for good causes – with plans to stage more events next year.

George – whose wife is expecting the couple’s third child, another baby boy, in February – said the fundraising was about keeping Jimmy’s memory alive.

‘If we can stop other families going through what we went through, even if it’s just one, that will be enough,’ George said.  

‘Jimmy didn’t have a life – he had just over seven weeks. If we can keep raising awareness and money for charity then he his memory lives on.’