Mother Shares a Warning about 'Teething Necklaces' after Her Baby Choked

A mom-of-four shared the horrifying incident when her months-old baby choked and nearly didn't make it because of a toy.

Any parent would be frantic with worry should their child experience pain or discomfort, let alone a near-death experience. So when mom-of-four Kasie saw her baby choking, she feared for his life.

The Boston resident shared that her then-two-month-old infant, Hunter, had sore gums that needed to be tended to. When she saw other parents talking about Amber teething necklaces, she decided to give it a shot.

Amber teething necklaces claim to provide comfort to babies with toothaches through natural alternatives. Although some parents are for the necklace, others are against its production for safety reasons. Kasie researched her own before contacting the company herself. She shared:

"I contacted the company and took measurements to ensure it was the right fit."

The company assured her that the necklace was safe, but that extra precautions had to be taken when in use. They told Kasie to remove the necklace whenever her baby would sleep and always use it with the supervision of an adult.

The couple tried to break the necklace following the incident to no avail.

Convinced, Kasie bought a necklace for her son. For nine months, her baby used the necklace with no trouble, but Kasie's worst nightmare happened when he was eleven months.

"[...] He was making weird noises, and I thought he was just being silly and when I looked closer, I noticed that the necklace was caught on the stopper on the baby gate, and he was gasping for air," she shared.

The company claimed that the necklace would easily break should it get caught on something, but Kasie couldn't pull it apart. Luckily, her husband came right away and unhooked the necklace.

Hunter was beginning to turn blue by that time. "I really thought he was going to die," Kasie said. "If I'd gone to the bathroom or gone to get a snack or something, I don't think he would still be here today."

The couple tried to break the necklace following the incident to no avail. Fortunately, Hunter was alright but had bruises around his neck.

According to studies, Amber teething necklaces pose a danger to babies for their strangulation risk. The study used a 15 pound-force to break the necklace, but only eight of 15 broke. In addition, the beads can choke an infant.

Choking has been a known cause of death among babies. Recently, a three-week-old baby nearly died from choking had Police Officer Cody Hubbard been a second late to save him.

Hopefully, such stories could help regulators of baby necklaces be aware of different cases so they could implement stricter rules on such products.