A grieving mother has warned others of the dangers of letting children sleep in a car seat after losing her 18-month-old girl.

Three years ago Lisa Smith, from Aledo in Texas, got the call no parent wants to hear after her babysitter put little Mia to sleep in a car seat, shares Yahoo 7.

“I got a call while I was at work,” Ms Smith told US news outlet WFAA-TV.

“Worst call I’ve ever had in my life, ‘Drop everything. Mia didn’t wake up from her nap’.”

Mia died from positional asphyxia, meaning her breathing was restricted by the position she was in.

“There’s nothing in the car seat that’s designed to sleep,” trauma injury prevention specialist Sharon Evans told WFAA-TV.

“Of course, if the straps aren’t tight, the child can kind of slump down.”

Mia’s mother said she knew the risks of leaving a child to sleep in a car seat and was shocked to discover her babysitter, who ran a licensed daycare centre in Iowa, had allowed it.

We have previously shared the sad story of parents Ali and Derek Dodd from Oklahoma, US, who are suffering the loss of their 11 week old son Shepard, who died at a day care after being put to sleep in an unbuckled car seat and left unsupervised. Read their story here.

When using a car seat or carrier, babies must always be supervised or else they can change positions and block their tiny airways. A good rule of thumb for parents to follow is to never, under any circumstances, use a car seat for anything other than its intended purpose, which is to keep baby safe in the car.

There has also been warnings that infants under four weeks shouldn’t travel in car seats for more than 30 minutes. Read that here.

Read more:

• Heart broken family call for safe sleep practices for car seats
• The car seat dangers for tiny infants you need to know about

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