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It's so sad to hear news like this. probably the seat was so cramped and baby was under a nursing cover or her shawl... and she just fell asleep on the baby. nursing mums do take note... Sleeping mum smothers baby on jet She fell asleep while nursing; doc on board failed to revive infant LONDON: A nursing mother accidentally smothered her four-week old child aboard a United Airlines flight from Washington DC to Kuwait, a British tabloid has reported. The Sun newspaper said that the mother, who it said was a 29-year-old Egyptian-born woman, fell asleep as she nursed on the jet and awoke after about an hour to find that she had accidentally suffocated the baby. Crew on the jet were alerted by the mother's screams and the flight, which was over the Atlantic, was diverted to Heathrow Airport for an immediate landing, the paper reported on Tuesday. Scotland Yard confirmed that a United Airlines plane had been diverted to Heathrow after reports that a four-week-old girl was in distress. The incident occurred last Wednesday. The police said in a statement that the baby was taken to a nearby hospital, where she was pronounced dead. It added that an autopsy had been performed last Friday, but the results were still pending. 'The death is being treated as unexplained and the Child Abuse Investigation Team is investigating the circumstances,' the statement said. Scotland Yard did not go into further detail, although Britain's Press Association news agency reported that such investigations were standard practice. No arrests have been made. A police source told The Sun: 'This appears to be a tragic accident. The girl comes from a loving family. Her mum was going to Kuwait to show her to relatives.' United Airlines spokesman Robin Urbanski said that a doctor aboard the flight tried unsuccessfully to revive the baby while the plane was still in the air. The ground authorities later took over. Ms Urbanski said she had no information about what happened to the passenger after that, although the flight later proceeded to Kuwait. The American Academy of Pediatrics has warned that sharing a bed or sleeping with an infant can be hazardous under certain conditions. The British Association of nursing Mothers has said: 'Sitting up in bed while holding your baby is very dangerous, especially if you fall asleep.'