Mum’s warning to parents about teething necklaces: “It strangled my son”

A mum in the US has taken to TikTok to share her heartbreaking story after her son died using an amber teething necklace.

Now, Dani Morin is now raising awareness about the dangers of using the popular teething product.

The video starts off with a series of happy images of Dani and her son Deacon, saying they loved their amber teething necklace. But, the tone changes when an image is shown of Deacon fighting for his life in hospital with the text: “Until it strangled my son to death.”

@danimorin13 Reply to @alexalujan5 @danimorin13 If you know this could be your outcome why risk it? #knowbetterdobetter #beagoodmom #safemomcheck @etsy ♬ iris – 🫶

Lots of parents were grateful for Dani for sharing her story. 

“I want you to know that I bought one before my daughter was born and your awareness saved me from ever putting it on my daughter. Thank you,” wrote a parent.

Others can’t believe this product is still available for parents to purchase.

“Sick to my stomach that I ever sold these at a boutique I worked at. Lord forgive me. Praying for you mama!” wrote a commenter.

“I’m surprised that moms today still buy and defend those, being countless child death cases due to those necklaces 🥺 thank you for sharing,” another person said.

“My reason for being was ripped from me”

Dani, now a child safety advocate, shared her story in detail on her website. 

“On Wednesday, October 5th, 2016 I woke up got my son ready for daycare, and fed him eggs, toast, and cut-up cherry tomatoes. His go-to. I dropped him off at daycare and that was the last I would ever see my son whole and healthy again,” she writes.

That afternoon, as Dani approached the daycare to pick up her son, she saw fire trucks and ambulances. “I just knew it was Deacon, no one needed to tell me I just knew,” she says. 

The daycare provider drove her to the hospital and told her that the fire department had to cut Deacon’s necklace loose.

“My thought was, ‘What necklace?’ In my mind, his teething necklace that she referred to was NOT DANGEROUS and had become such a part of him, I never thought of it as just some necklace,” Dani says.

“Running into the hospital I remember thinking there is no way the baltic amber baby necklace was involved it was supposed to break. ETSY said it was safe for my baby I still had the receipt and the packaging from my baby shower. But there I was watching my son code and doctors working on him and right there on his neck was a strangulation mark. This was not a heart issue he was strangled and his heart had stopped.”

Dani spent the next five days “praying for a miracle”, but sadly on the 10th of October at 3:30 pm, doctors called the time of death for Deacon.

“My passion, my life purpose, my reason for being was ripped from me,” says Dani. 

What are amber teething necklaces?

An article published in The New York Times says: “Amber beads are said to warm and then release a substance called succinic acid, which is then supposed to leach into the bloodstream and act as a ‘natural’ pain reliever.”

However, Aaron Celestian, Ph.D., an associate curator of mineral sciences at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles, told the publication the beads would need to be heated to around 400 degrees for the acid to be released from the amber. Obviously, it isn’t possible for a baby’s skin to reach a temperature that high, making them pointless – as well as dangerous.

Are they safe?

An Instagram post by CPR KIDS says amber teething necklaces are “a choking and strangulation hazard.”

“You may have recently seen the viral video a mama has shared, raising awareness on the dangers of teething necklaces after her little boy was strangled by one and died as a result,” the post says.

“This isn’t the first time a devastated parent has bravely shared their tragic experience, in hopes of making others more aware.⁠

“Amber teething necklaces are as popular as ever, but it is important to understand that they are a choking and strangulation hazard.”