Hot Topic (4/27): Co-Sleeping - Is it safe or too dangerous?
Do you think co-sleeping is dangerous or is it safer to have your babies with you?
Do your babies sleep in your bed?
The Potential Dangers of Co-Sleeping
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Four infants in Wisconsin who were co-sleeping with adults have died in the last six weeks. Here's what our pediatrician has to say about the risks.
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Four infants in Wisconsin who were co-sleeping with adults have died in the last six weeks. Reportedly, in each case, the adult turned over and accidentally landed on the baby, suffocating it to death.
- Two-month-old Tyler Winston died April 19 while sleeping with his mother, Carlen Friday. When she woke up, she found the newborn faced down on the bed dead.
- Three-month-old Kymarius Hunt died April 5 after his grandmother apparently smothered him while they slept on a couch.
- Ten-month-old Gavin Robinson died April 4 of accidental suffocation after sharing a futon with his mother, police said.
- Six-day-old Ceianna Buchanan was found dead March 8 in her home after sleeping with her mother on the couch. She appeared to have been smothered.
Granted, two of these adults broke a cardinal rule of co-sleeping: They slept on couches, not beds. Experts advise never to co-sleep on a sofa as your baby could get wedged in the cracks between the cushions or between you and the back of the couch. Co-sleeping on a waterbed is also a no-no, as they are too soft and may have deep crevices around the frame where your baby could get trapped.
Alcohol was also a factor in two of these incidents. Drugs and alcohol can impair your memory and cause you to forget that your baby is sleeping next to you. They can also cause you to sleep so soundly that you may not realize it if you roll over on your baby.
Is co-sleeping safe?
Pediatrician Dr. Cara Natterson says: The "family bed" is another term for parents sleeping with one or more children. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has officially recommended against the family bed, and the proponents of attachment parenting adamantly disagree. The AAP recommendation is based upon infant safety issues. Here are three reasons why:
Tossing and turning: There is a risk that a parent could roll on top of a baby, potentially injuring or suffocating him or her. While this is uncommon, it is possible.
Down will come baby: Unless a baby is in the middle of the bed between two adults, it is easy for him or her to squirm or roll off the bed. Surrounding a baby with pillows or other bolsters is neither safe nor effective.
This bed's too soft: Parents tend to sleep in beds with soft mattresses and heavy comforters. It is safer for a baby to sleep in a bed with a slightly harder mattress with lighter covers or none at all.
The Milwaukee Health Department launched a citywide safe sleep awareness campaign yesterday. "If you love your baby, put them in the crib," said Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett. "Do not have them sleep with you."
**On the other hand, some say:
It is Unwarranted to State that Sleeping in a Crib is Safer than a Bed.
The answer is not to tell parents they shouldn't sleep with their baby, but rather to educate them on how to sleep with their infants safely.
A conflict of interest? Who is behind this new national campaign to warn parents not to sleep with their babies? In addition to the USCPSC, the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association (JPMA) is co-sponsoring this campaign. The JPMA? An association of crib manufacturers. This is a huge conflict of interest. Actually, this campaign is exactly in the interest of the JPMA.
What does the research say? The September/October 2002 issue of Mothering Magazine presents research done throughout the whole world on the issue of safe sleep. Numerous studies are presented by experts of excellent reputation. And what is the magazine's conclusion based on all this research? That not only is sleeping with your baby safe, but it is actually much safer than having your baby sleep in a crib. Research shows that infants who sleep in a crib are twice as likely to suffer a sleep related fatality (including SIDS) than infants who sleep in bed with their parents.
Education on safe sleep. I do support the USCPSC's efforts to research sleep safety and to decrease the incidence of SIDS, but I feel they should go about it differently. Instead of launching a national campaign to discourage parents from sleeping with their infants, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission should educate parents on how to sleep safely with their infants if they choose to do so.
Do you think co-sleeping is dangerous or is it safer to have your babies with you?
I think for some people, yes it could be dangerous, but for me, it was the easiest way to go about. I ended up co sleeping with my son in his room because my husband was afraid of rolling over on him. But not only did my son not sleep unless i was near him, I had a csection so getting up and all that was more difficult but I do NOT move in my sleep. ever. if I move, it means that I woke up to do so. and I'm a very light sleeper, and all the years with cats sleeping on me I had NEVER once rolled over on them. so for me, I'd say it was safe, but for someone like my sister who I used to share a bed with and wake up with bruises all over, I'd say her baby shouldn't be in her bed.
regardless of the COVIENCE OF CO SLEEPING, it is still dangerous and should not be done. There is no way around that. That is why they make bedside bassinets.
While I don't personally advocate co-sleeping, I do think it can be MADE safe (this post seems to have some bias in it), and it should be up to the parents to determine whether they want to do it or not. I personally do not, because I feel that my bed is for me and my husband and the children need to realize that they have their own place. Plus, infants need to learn to sleep in their own bed in order to have some confidence in being away from mom and dad for the night.
Is it dangerous? If the parents are careless, but that has nothing to do with co-sleeping and has everything to do with irresponsible parents.
It can be made safe!
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How can it be made safe?
Quoting Eilish:While I don't personally advocate co-sleeping, I do think it can be MADE safe (this post seems to have some bias in it), and it should be up to the parents to determine whether they want to do it or not. I personally do not, because I feel that my bed is for me and my husband and the children need to realize that they have their own place. Plus, infants need to learn to sleep in their own bed in order to have some confidence in being away from mom and dad for the night.
Is it dangerous? If the parents are careless, but that has nothing to do with co-sleeping and has everything to do with irresponsible parents.
It can be made safe!
Personally, this is something we chose not to do. But for completely selfish reasons. Our bed is our bed. A place we can be without out children. And as you know there are not very many places in the house like that.
If it works for some people then who am I to knock it. Everything we choose to do has possibilty of hurting our children. They can get hurt in their crib too.
most parents place the child either in the middle of the two parents or to the side of the mother. it is very easy for a parent to roll over while asleep and not notice what is happening.
it is also possible for blankets, sheets, to cover the child face while sleeping as well as pillows. It is also possible for the child to get hurt by the parent re-flexing in their sleep which happens more often then not.
Yes it is up to the parent if they choose to do it or not, however, it is just not a good idea.
Quoting Da1nOnlyDestiny:How can it be made safe?
Quoting Eilish:
There is actually equipment you can by to help. It is like a small bassinet thing that goes in the middle of the bed. I think i saw it in a One Step Ahead catalog. It is crazy some of the equipment you can buy now.
oh ok yes i have seen that and the bed side bassinet as well. i was not referring to those methods. those i agree are very safe. I am referring to when parents just lay their child in the bed with them with no support.
Quoting Godgaveme4:
Quoting Da1nOnlyDestiny:How can it be made safe?
Quoting Eilish:
There is actually equipment you can by to help. It is like a small bassinet thing that goes in the middle of the bed. I think i saw it in a One Step Ahead catalog. It is crazy some of the equipment you can buy now.
Quoting Da1nOnlyDestiny:
How can it be made safe?
Quoting Eilish:
(this post seems to have some bias in it),
We tried to show both sides:)
At the bottom of our post, you can see ways to make co-sleeping safe.
Eight Year Old Girl Given "Catastrophe Award" By Teacher
- Cafe GroupAdmin
on Apr. 27, 2009 at 12:02 AM