The ruling on a mother whose infant died while she was sleeping

The Shaykh:
The judge is idle.

The presenter:
We looked. There is no sound, Shaykh.

The questioner:
She does not know the cause of his death. He says: A woman gave birth to a child, and one day she fell asleep while the child was nursing from her breast. She woke up and found that the child had died, and she does not know the cause of his death. Did she sleep on him and he suffocated and died, or did he die a natural death? She asks: What should she do? And what is the Islamic ruling regarding her? May Allah reward you with good.

The Shaykh:
If she was the cause of his death, either by rolling over on him, or by placing a thick blanket on him which suffocated him, or by leaving the breast in his mouth and falling asleep while it was in his mouth, then in these cases she owes the expiation for an accidental killing. This is freeing a slave. If she cannot find one, she must fast for two consecutive months. But if she did not cause it—if she did not roll over on him, did not cover him with a blanket that would suffocate him, and did not leave the breast in his mouth while sleeping—then she owes nothing. Yes.

The presenter:
I seek forgiveness from Allah. And upon you be peace.