Pennsylvania mom warns parents swimming pool game caused children’s ‘freak’ drownings

A Philadelphia mother's loss of two of her children, who drowned in a pool over Memorial Day weekend, highlights the danger of breath-holding games in the water – even when played by children who are typically strong swimmers. 

Early last month, Brittney McWhite made the decision to pull 14-year-old Wadale and 11-year-old London Marie off life support.

A week earlier, all was well in McWhite's household, and she and her six children visited their aunt's house for a Memorial Day cookout in New Jersey, Fox 29 reported.

"When we got there, I was like, 'OK, I'll help set up the food.' Kids were playing in the pool. They were playing a game where you go down, Marco Polo, and you hold your breath," McWhite told Fox News Digital. 

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After three or four minutes, McWhite realized that she couldn't see her children, who were both able to swim. 

Family members leaped into the pool to pull out the two children, and "when they got out everyone was all hands on deck."

"I am CPR certified. But in that moment, when it's your own child, you go into shock, everything is shock for you – you can't perform the thing you know how to do," McWhite said. 

Monroe Township Police received a call at 6:46 p.m. for a report of the two kids drowning, Fox 29 Philadelphia reported.

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London Marie and Wadale were on life support for a week at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. Their mother said neither child showed signs of brain activity from the moment they were admitted and that they had regular seizures.

There was a small window of hope when both children began to take small breaths on their own, but ultimately, "the only thing keeping them alive was the machines," she said.

"Keep your kids close. Tell your kids you love them while they're here. Once something happens, all you have is memories," McWhite told Fox News Digital. "It's horrible, you never get those back. It's hard, but you have other kids, and you still have a family. You don't have time to grieve."

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From now on, McWhite said she and her children are especially vigilant in the water.

"I'll always be present, I'll always be there. Life jackets, floaties, whatever they need," McWhite said.

"My recommendation for parents is to prevent [their] kids from holding their breath while going underwater," she said. "If they are going to go underwater, definitely make sure that they have eyes on them at all times; just because they know how to swim [doesn't mean] freak accidents [can't] happen."

A report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that "dangerous underwater breath-holding behaviors" can lead to involuntary drowning in otherwise healthy people. Swimmers can suffer from "hypoxic blackout" or "breath-hold blackout," which can lead to death.

According to Shallow Water Blackout Prevention, a nonprofit group dedicated to raising awareness about such deaths, the phenomenon happens when a swimmer faints due to a lack of oxygen to the brain. This can be triggered by holding your breath repeatedly or too long. Without immediate rescue, the swimmer quickly drowns. 

The organization was founded by the mother of a young man who died in his family's swimming pool while doing breath-holding training, and it has support from Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps.

What's more, lifeguards and other guardians can mistake drowning children at the bottom of the pool for children playing games involving breath holding.

"This is the new 'no diving,'" lifeguard Jeff Little told WRAL about signs prohibiting breath holding at the YMCA where he works, reminiscent of signs around pool decks that warn against diving in shallow parts of pools to prevent spinal injuries.