NORFOLK, Va. (AP) - The number of babies in Hampton Roads who died as a result of child abuse and neglect remained high in 2016 when compared to the rest of Virginia.
A report released Tuesday by the Eastern Region Child Fatality Review Team states that 32 babies in the region died during the past fiscal year in unsafe sleep environments, an increase from 21 the previous year.
According to the report, 15 babies died while sleeping with adults. Others were in cribs with too-soft bedding, or put on their stomachs.
Virginia Powell of the state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner says many of the cases were accidental. But, she says, some were the result of parents or caregivers of babies making unwise decisions while under the influence of alcohol.
Powell says infants should sleep alone, on their backs and in a crib.
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