Gemma Atkinson responds as fans share concern over photo of sleeping son

03 October 2023 , 15:16

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Gemma Atkinson responds as fans share concern over photo of sleeping son

Gemma Atkinson has responded to fans who were concerned about her son.

The former Hollyoaks star was flooded with messages from her followers after she shared a pic of her sleeping baby. She welcomed her tot Thiago with Strictly Come Dancing fiancé Gorka Márquez back in July, with the pair already sharing four-year-old daughter, Mia. However, many noticed an issue with the image of her baby and issued a warning to the 38-year-old mum.

The picture showed Thiago asleep in a brown basket while lying on his front after meeting her Planet Radio co-star Mike Toolan. Gemma joked in the caption: "When Thiago met Toolan! Tools came round today and he gently leaned over the sleeping beauty to a welcoming sound of wet fart. As usual Tools ate half the contents in the fridge and left with more food boxed up for his tea. Someone’s gotta look after him!"

Gemma shared a photo of her son Thiago sleeping on his tummy (glouiseatkinson/Instagram)

Many fans reminded Gemma of the current safe sleep advice, which is that the safest sleep position for a baby is on their back or side. Safe sleep charity Lullaby Trust advises on their website: "The safest sleeping position for a baby is on their back so always place your baby on their back to sleep and not on their front or side. There is substantial evidence from around the world to show that sleeping your baby on their back at the beginning of every sleep or nap (day and night) significantly reduces the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)."

However, Gemma has since responded to the many comments. She said: "He does sleep on his back. He naps on his front a few times throughout the day when I’m sat on the chair next to him. He’s also able to lift and move his head in both directions when on his front. Not my first rodeo with babies [smiling emoji]"

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Journalist and campaigner Anne Diamond spearheaded the Back To Sleep campaign, which she launched after the tragic death of her son Sebastian over 20 years ago. Four-month-old Sebastian had been placed on his tummy to go to sleep, which was the advice from health professionals at the time. But, Anne began to investigate research into SIDS and discovered new research at the time, which found putting babies to sleep on their backs was a major factor in reducing infant mortality.

"It was one of the most successful public health campaigns ever," said chief executive of the Lullaby Trust Francine Bates told the BBC. "People did change their behaviour. It's so simple."

Gemma and fiancé Gorka first met on Strictly in 2017, although they weren’t Strictly partners - with Gorka partnered with Alexandra Burke and Gemma with Aljaž Škorjanec. Rumours swirled around the couple during the show until February 2018 when the pair went public with their romance.

She insisted however that they were “genuinely” not together while competing on the show. By the end of the year, Gemma announced she was pregnant with their daughter Mia. On Valentine's Day in 2021, Gorka finally popped the question and the couple welcomed their son in July this year.

Mia O'Hare