9-Month-Old Boy Drowns After Mother Distracted When Giving Him a Bath

A child in a foam bath in a bath tub reaches for a plastic toy in a file photo. Alexander Hassenstein/File Photo/Getty Images

A 9-month-old boy from Texas has died this week after drowning in a bathtub while his mother was distracted, according to Harris County deputies.

The mother said she was bathing the child in the bathtub with her 2-year-old, but left the room for a short period of time after getting distracted, reported Fox 4 News.

When she returned to the bathroom, she said the child was in the tub face-down.

Emergency services rushed to the Harris County home in the Mission Bend North area, after deputies received a phone call at around 3 p.m. on July 8.

However, the baby was unresponsive and unconscious by the time emergency services and officers arrived, according to reports.

The 9-month-old was rushed to Texas Children’s Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. No foul play is suspected in the child’s death, police said, according to Chron.

According to the outlet, authorities are expected to contact Child Protective Services.

Infant Drowns After Mother Fell Asleep Next to Tub

In March, another baby from Texas drowned while having a bath when his mother fell asleep next to the tub, according to police officials.

The 6-week-old twin baby, named Samuel Symonds, was found dead when first responders arrived at the house in Fort Worth on March 11.

The Fort Worth Police Department said in a statement obtained by NBC DFW, “A 6-week-old male twin was in the bath with mom when she fell asleep.”

“When mom awoke the baby was under water and was unresponsive.”

Initially, the other twin baby was taken in by Child Protective Services for a short while, before being returned with the parents, spokeswoman Marissa Gonzales told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Officials said baby Samuel was at first identified as 2 months old then 6 months old.

It was at least the third drowning incident involving children in north Texas this year, reported CBS DFW.

Texas Girl Dies in Bathtub After Left Unattended By Mother

A 3-year-old girl from Texas was found unresponsive by her mother at their Decatur home in March.

Eve Blankenfeld’s mother left the room while the girl was taking a bath on March 1.

“The mother put her child in the bathtub and then walked into another room to tend to two other kids, Decatur Chief of Police Rex Hoskins told the Star-Telegram. “She came back and found the child face-down in the bathtub.”

When the mother returned to the room, she contacted the police, pulled Eve out of the tub, and attempted to perform CPR.

The girl was rushed to a hospital in Fort Worth, about 34 miles away, but sadly passed away on March 5.

“It was a tragic accident,” Hoskins said.

The girl’s parents will not be charged over the accident, police said, according to WFAA.

Child Drownings

Drowning was the leading cause of unintentional deaths among children ages 1 to 4 in 2012, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

From 2006 to 2010, there were 684 incidents involving children younger than 5 years old, according to a report by the commission. That includes 434 deaths.

More than four in five of the incidents took place in bathtubs or involved bath-related products, with pools being the second leading location for child drownings.

“Too many young children are drowning,” said Inez Tenenbaum, chairman of the commission.

“Just as with pools, I urge parents and caregivers to childproof their home and constantly supervise young children around bathtubs, bath seats, and buckets. Taking extra safety steps at home can help prevent a tragic drowning.”

In an update published in 2018, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that unintentional injuries, including drownings, were the leading causes of death for children ages 1 to 4.

“Each year, about 4,000 people drown in the United States; drowning kills more children 1-4 years of age than anything else except birth defects,” the agency stated. “Among children 1-14, drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional injury death (after motor vehicle crashes).”

“More than half of those who are treated in an emergency department for drowning require hospitalization or transfer for further care (compared with about 6 percent of all unintentional injuries). A person who survives drowning may suffer lasting consequences like brain damage,” it added.

Safety tips include never leaving young children alone near any water or fluid, always keeping a young child within arm’s reach when they’re taking a bath, and placing locks on toilet seat covers.

Zachary Stieber contributed to this report.