Couva baby found unresponsive at home

A four-month-old baby boy was found unresponsive at his family’s home in Couva over the weekend.

Police said the baby, Lucas Ramlochan, was left with a babysitter in the house at Mc Bean Village on the night of November 30, when his parents went out.

They returned around before dawn the next day and were told the baby had been fed around midnight and then put to bed. They checked on Lucas and found him asleep.

However, when they checked again at about 8.15 am, Lucas was unresponsive.

The police and emergency services were called. A district medical officer declared him dead and ordered the body removed pending an autopsy.

There were no visible signs of violence.

Investigations are ongoing.

His death occurred two weeks after seven-month-old Micaiah Ormsby was found unresponsive at a daycare centre in Tunapuna.

On November 18, the owner told police around 4.30 pm, she bathed and fed Micaiah, who fell asleep and was put on a bed in the living-room area.

Around 5.20 pm, Micaiah’s mother arrived to pick him up. A worker went to get the baby, but found him dead.

An autopsy found Micaiah died from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). His funeral took place on December 2.

What is SIDS?

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines SIDS as the sudden, unexpected death of a baby younger than one year with no known cause.

The CDC says people can reduce such deaths by putting healthy babies on their backs to sleep. It said babies who sleep on their backs are much less likely to die of SIDS than those who sleep on their sides or stomachs.

CDC also advises using a firm sleeping surface to help reduce the risk of SIDS and suffocation.