Arissa Ward

Deaths of children due to bed-sharing is on the rise, said Dauphin County officials who charged a Middletown mother with involuntary manslaughter Thursday.

Arissa Katelyn Ward, 23, formerly of the 300 block of Lawrence Street, was charged with a second-degree felony count of involuntary manslaughter and endangering the welfare of children, a first-degree misdemeanor.

She is free on $50,000 unsecured bail.

Ward called police Dec. 30 after finding her infant son unresponsive on the couch where she was sleeping with him. She told police she had been drinking alcohol and smoking pot before lying on the couch with her son, who was two months and five days old.

An autopsy Jan. 3 showed the child's death was caused by "traumatic asphyxia combined with smothering." The child also had marijuana in his system, said the autopsy report.

Ed Marsico, Dauphin County district attorney, said the county is forming a task force to study the issue of deaths caused by bed-sharing and recommend preventative action.

While they've seen baby deaths from bed-sharing in the past 10-15 years, it appears to be on the rise.

"The advice from hospitals and pediatricians is pretty clear - don't sleep with your child," Marsico said. And if someone is under the influence of alcohol or drugs, "it's much more likely something like this could happen," he said.

DA Ed Marsico discusses arrest in Middletown infants death Posted by PennLive.com on Thursday, May 25, 2017

Marsico said they felt involuntary manslaughter was an appropriate charge because they believe the death was "caused by a reckless act," although not an intentional one.

"It wasn't her intent to kill her child," he said.

Ward's attorney, Casey Shore, said "There's no question there was never any intention or desire to harm her child by any stretch. It's a horrible tragedy."

He said she has one other child, who remains in her custody after an investigation by Children & Youth Services.

"I can't imagine a parent going through this," said Jennifer Gettle, chief deputy district attorney. "We had a 911 call from a mom - she is crying, she is sobbing, she is going through the realization she has caused the death of her child."

In addition, Ward was breastfeeding, so the infant had THC in its system.

The amount was 0.65 nanograms, Marsico said.

Ward's blood alcohol level is not available, Gettle said, adding that the THC could have made the child more lethargic.

Marsico said Ward and the child's father had been out drinking in Harrisburg that night.

Arthur Thomas Livering, the child's father, was charged today with endangering the welfare of a child and possession of marijuana, Gettle said.

The couple had a crib in which the baby could have slept, Marsico said, which is often the case in these cases.

"Our message today is don't sleep with your kid, especially if you're smoking dope or drinking all night, because you don't know what you're doing," he said.

He said numbers of cases aren't available, but the task force hopes to develop these statistics.

Last year, the

that infants to share their parents' bedroom for at least the first six months and, optimally, for the first year of life.

Here are AAP recommendations for a safe sleep environment:

Place the baby on his or her back on a firm sleep surface such as a crib or bassinet with a tight-fitting sheet.

Avoid use of soft bedding, including crib bumpers, blankets, pillows and soft toys. The crib should be bare.

Share a bedroom with parents, but not the same sleeping surface, preferably until the baby turns 1 but at least for the first six months. Room-sharing decreases the risk of SIDS by as much as 50 percent.

Avoid baby's exposure to smoke, alcohol and illicit drugs.

The March of Dimes says bed-sharing - when babies and parents sleep in the same bed - is dangerous. A baby can be hurt by:

Getting trapped by the bed's frame, headboard or footboard.

Getting stuck between the bed and the wall, furniture or other objects.

Falling off the bed.

Being suffocated by pillows, blankets or quilts or from laying facedown.

Having another person roll on top of him.

SIDS.

March of Dimes says don't bed-share if:

Your baby is younger than 4 months old. This is when a baby is at highest risk of SIDS.

Your partner or other children sleep in your bed.

You smoke, even if you don't smoke in bed.

You're very tired.

You've had alcohol, used street drugs or taken certain prescription medicines, like antidepressants, or over-the-counter medicines like allergy or cough medicine that may make you sleepy. Taking these things can make it hard for you to wake up or respond to your baby.

Here are some recent Pennsylvania cases of infants dying while bed-sharing:

September 2016:

June 2016:

Oct. 17, 2014:

While not a bed-sharing death, a mother was charged in Harrisburg after her son drowned last August when left alone in a bathtub with his two-year-old sister. Kathryn Jacoby, 25, of Harrisburg, was charged in January with homicide. Police said Jacoby's blood-alcohol level was 0.150 percent, nearly double the legal limit for driving, police said.