CLEVELAND — Losing a baby is something no parent ever wants to experience, but every year, approximately 3,500 babies in the U.S. die from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

"It is the worst thing that ever happened to me because of course I never thought it would happen to me," said Chauntia Williams.

What started off as a normal night for new mom Chauntia ended in tragedy.

"I laid her down about 11 because she was kind of fussy (and) laid in my bed. My husband, now, he was in there watching TV, and then, I don't know, around 4 or 5 hours later I kind of jumped up out of my sleep, and I saw her lying face down in the bed," Williams said.

The infant had been sleeping in a crib. Williams called 911 while she performed CPR on her 33-day-old baby girl, Aaliyah.

"When I saw her lying down, it almost kind of caught me off guard, like, why is she laying like that,” Williams said. “So, when I picked her up and I felt like the urine run out of her diaper I knew, like, she's not with me."

Baby Aaliyah was taken to the hospital where she was later pronounced dead.

"The police came. EMT came and they took us to Hillcrest, and they told us, 'Hey, we've established an airway. We have a faint pulse,' but I knew that didn't mean anything,” Williams said. “And they did try to revive her, but unfortunately, they weren't able to."

The next several hours were extremely difficult for Williams and her husband. They had to call family to tell them the news. They also had to go through everything they did that night with police.

"The coroner came with the police right away,” Williams said. “So, this was not even within hours and they had us re-enact what happened with a baby doll. And I think back to that and I say, 'How did we do that?' you know, leaving the hospital empty handed and now you're handing me a baby doll and tell me, 'Tell me exactly what happened,' and we did."

It was later determined Aaliyah died from SIDS because of the bedding in her crib. Dr. Candis Platt-Houston is a pediatrician at MetroHealth Medical Center. She said each year, approximately 20 to 30 babies die from SIDS in Cuyahoga County.

"Babies, their neurological system isn't as developed as ours, so if they're on their stomach their neck muscles aren't strong enough so they may not be able to hold their head up completely,” Platt-Houston said. “They can’t easily turn their head so that they're face down or be propped up against something to cause them to smother.”

Platt-Houston said some of the things that cause a baby to suffocate in their cribs are blankets, pillows and even stuffed animals. She said parents should follow the ABC's to keep their babies safe.

"When we're talking about the ABC's of safe sleep, the ‘A’ is for babies should always be alone. ‘B’ is babies should always be on their backs, and then ‘C’ is for crib, and the important thing about the crib is the crib should be a bare crib. So, that means no blankets, no pillows, no stuffed animals and no bumper pads, 'cause those are things that are smothering hazards for babies. And then 'D' is don't smoke," said Platt-Houston.

Platt-Houston also offered advice for parents whose babies don't like to sleep on their backs.

"Babies at that point don't know the difference between sleeping on their backs or stomach,” Platt-Houston. “So, I really try to encourage the parent to make sure at all times whether it's when the baby is sleeping at night or sleeping during the day taking a nap that they always place the baby on their backs so the baby gets used to sleeping on their back."

Aaliyah would have been 12 years old this year. It took Williams a long time to deal with the guilt of her baby dying.

"Just letting myself feel the pain. So, like, I've wanted to run away from it. but I couldn't, so I had to let myself feel hurt and then go through the guilt. It's not my fault but still go through that process like you feel like it's your fault and then learn to do better,” Williams said.

Williams was afraid to have more kids after losing Aaliyah, but today, she is the mother of two more kids.

She said she did everything she could to protect them from SIDS and now she works as a loss coach, sharing her story with other parents to help them prevent experiencing the same loss she did. She also has a message for any parent grieving the loss of their baby.

"One day, you'll smile again,” she said. “This isn't the end. It is unfortunate. It does hurt. It's not fair, but you will get through it.”

For more information on SIDS resources and prevention you may click here.