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Is sleeping with your baby safe? Credit: Getty Images
The Santa Clara County Child Death Review showed that 15 babies in Santa Clara county died over the past five years when their parents rolled over on top of them, according to the Silicon Valley Mercury News. A total of 27 babies younger than age 1 died during that same period because of unsafe sleeping arrangements, which, in addition to co-sleeping, included sleeping alone on an adult bed, pillow or couch, the newspaper reports.
The issue is a difficult one for health care experts to navigate, as there are clear benefits to being in close proximity to newborns, as well as risks. Dr. Patrick Clyne, a pediatrician who chaired the county's review team, tells the Mercury News he recommends parents sleep in the same room with their babies, but not in the same bed.
"The bottom line is parents should always put their infants to sleep in a standard crib or bassinet on their back," he tells the newspaper.
There are advantages for an infant sleeping next to his mother. Babies have better regulated temperatures and heart rates when they do so, Dr. James McKenna, head of Notre Dame's Mother-Baby Behavioral Sleep Laboratory tells the Mercury News. Still, many feel the risks outweigh the benefits, and the American Pediatrics Council strongly advises against bed sharing, the newspaper reports.
The Mercury News relates one incident of a woman who brought her 3-month-old daughter into her bed to nurse her in the middle of the night, and let the baby fall asleep there. When the parents woke up in the morning, they found their daughter lying dead between them.
Many health experts say a good compromise is to buy a co-sleeper that attaches to the side of the bed, or to have the baby sleep in a bassinet next to the parental bed. That way the infant is nearby but has her own, safe sleeping space.
Related: Should Your Family Share a Bed?
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
7-06-2010 @ 8:24PM
fluture429 said...We cannot control everything people. Mistakes happen...God controls the outcome of things not us. Let it be death or life.
Reply
7-06-2010 @ 10:08PM
tara said...Accidents do happen, but if you use common sense...
1. Never put a baby near a pillow
2. Never co sleep in a space where a baby can run out of room (sofa, next to wall...)
3. Never co-sleep if you have altered perception (alcohol, drugs, sleep deprivation, illness...)
4. Never allow co-sleeping with someone other than the natural mother (sorry Dad's and Adoptive parents)
5. Co-sleep for the purpose of breast feeding only and position yourself in the 'Reclining Position' with pillows behind you and under your head, child facing you.
6. Never use blankets while co-sleeping and make sure the fitted sheet is securely in place.
... your child will not suffocate! Read each story of a co-sleeping death. The child was sleeping with someone other than the natural mother, bottle fed, or there were pillows/blankets/stuffed animals/wall/etc involved. Look farther and you will see that the majority of these cases are also in lower income families who may not be able to afford an appropriate infant sleeper of any sort. No person was born with all the tools for parenting. Support each other in the safety and development of our youth! I donated my crib and playpen (after my children used it) to the homeless initiative here. That's possibly one less co-sleeping death. If you aren't helping to be part of the solution, you may be part of the problem.
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7-06-2010 @ 10:44PM
SKL said...The number of deaths they cite is only 3 per year. How many babies died in their cribs during that time? How many of those babies who died in their cribs might have lived if their moms were in close contact with them? And, how many babies who died of abuse and neglect might have lived if their moms had bonded properly to them?
This is hype.
Parents who are not drunk/on drugs don't roll over on their babies.
Sober parents have enough brains to decide what is the best sleeping arrangement for their kids. The government needs to butt out.
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7-07-2010 @ 9:39AM
Ingrid said...I agree with SKL. You have to look closely at what "kind" of co-sleeping arrangement is dangerous. AND you have to weigh this against deaths that occur because a baby was in a crib. I found a great website that analyzes the SIDS data and it clearly shows that cribs are not as good for babies as co-sleeping. They even bring up points like babies who died in fires, babies who were abducted who might have been able to be saved had they been sleeping next to their parent. Sure- those events are VERY rare, but SO is the death of a baby from co-sleeping. I can't paste the link to the article here due to spam control, but you can find it via Google if you search for "cosleeping fact sheet."
Co-sleeping is fine as long as you do it as safely as possible. I co-slept with my baby but when I did, I had to sleep in a separate bed from my husband during that time.
7-12-2010 @ 7:14PM
giedra Bowser said...Proper use for anything is key. Even"safe" things like car seats can be used unsafely without proper instruction or care. People need to take responsibility for their actions and saying co-sleeping is bad is downright ridiculous. Many, many parents in other countries co-sleep as the norm.
Look at all the crib related deaths/accidents on the CPSC website. Many because the product is not safe.
7-06-2010 @ 11:46PM
pb said...Sadly at my work in another state I see the autopsy reports, yes even well intentioned and sober people can cause an infant to die when they sleep with them.
Reply
7-07-2010 @ 3:37AM
Cynara said...Every year there seems to be some new theory on how to raise your baby. The last craze was to hold your child back a year from Kindergarten because he wasn't "ready" or "socialized" enough. My son, who is only 6 weeks older than my friend's son played and socialized with her kid and I could see no difference. Yet she had her son evaluated and the psycologist delared he was too immature for school. The fact that she was paying 10 K per year for child care should have definitely made her reacess the findings. Some mothers told me they wanted their sons to be the biggest ones in class so the kid could win a football scholarship.! This newest fad of sleeping with an infant is the dumbest , most dangerous fad yet!
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7-07-2010 @ 9:43AM
Ingrid said...Sleeping with your baby is not a new "fad" - it's what's been done for centuries upon centuries and is done worldwide. In many cultures they don't use a crib EVER. The "fad" here is crib sleeping, not co-sleeping.
7-07-2010 @ 8:00PM
Heidi said...Thanks Ingrid. You said what I would have.
10-31-2010 @ 5:42PM
Jenni-Anne said...Fad? You're kidding right? You actually think that co-sleeping is a fad? Co-sleeping has been done since the beginning of time. We're one of the few countries now that doesn't practice it.
15 children died, ok that sounds like a horrible number, but how many parents have co-slept without a problem? How come the story doesn't tell you that? How come the story doesn't tell you the actual statistics and numbers?
7-07-2010 @ 10:05AM
hartleyworks said...If you know yourself to be an extraordinarily heavy sleeper, or that you might possibly be the kind of person who would either sleep through loud noise or shift heavy covers unaware, then you might not be the candidate for sleeping with your child.
On the other hand, if you are a parent that sleeps lightly and knows themselves to be somewhat 'semi-aware' of their child's presence while they sleep...then I say -go for it.
We have one life to live. Often times you hear parents say: "Where did the time go? I never got to spend enough time with my child." A great way to spend time with your child is by spending sleeptime with your child. Sleeping with your baby is as precious for you as it is for them. They want this. They want that security, that warmth. This is LOVE for them.
If you feel like you're going to rollover on top of them, then just don't sleep with them. If you feel you won't be able to be roused out of your deep sleep, then make the decision that's right for them: don't sleep with them. But if you KNOW that your baby is positioned correctly, that you sleep with one eye open (subconsciously), then why not take the time to enjoy the most wonderful moments of your life?
We don't need a rule for this. This is common sense. It's also personal. I certainly don't need a law or a government to tell me how I should sleep or how my child should sleep. I know. I'm the mother. A responsible mother.
Life is important. Love makes life better. And 'love' makes decisions. It boils down to what YOU, the parent are capable of. Are you able to sleep with your baby without recklessly endangering it's life? That's an easy choice. If you don't feel you can do it, DON'T do it.
If, on the other hand, you KNOW you can...then take this rare and precious opportunity to experience the greatest and most loving moments of your life together: cuddling, sleeping, waking...cuddling. This is love. If you've got it, go for it.
D.
D.
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7-07-2010 @ 11:29AM
Hugh said...It's all about making efforts to keep it safe. One of the best ways to do this is with The Humanity Family Sleeper found at www.familysleeper.com.
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7-08-2010 @ 9:09AM
Heather said...maybe instead of talking about how bad it is they should be promoting how to do it safely like using co-sleeping bassinettes,
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7-07-2010 @ 7:17PM
Rhi said...And how many babies died of SIDS? About 2500 per year in the US. Versus 15 from co-sleeping and around 30-40 year nationally, if even that.
Putting a baby to sleep alone on a couch (or alone anywhere) isn't co-sleeping and it's such ignorance and hogwash that they're sticking it in there too just to push their anti co-sleeping agenda.
I'm so tired of the west constantly rejecting any sort of natural parenting, whether it's midwifery care, home / birth center births, co-sleeping or even breastfeeding. And yet we spend more money than any other place on the entire planet and have the worst outcomes for it so really, all this more-scientific-than-thou parenting is crap.
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7-08-2010 @ 10:55AM
john C said...I do not believe there is anything wrong with co-sleeping. You do have to take certain precautions. When my DD was born she slept in between me and the wall. There was not gaps between my bed and the wall. I made sure my long hair was wrapped up. I also didn't sleep with pillows and large blankets. She was swaddled and I basically wrapped myself in a thin sheet if I got cold. I have never had an issue with co-sleeping and I am a mother of three. I believe co-sleeping gets a bad wrap from parents you do not use proper care or go to bed under the infulence.
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7-08-2010 @ 1:36PM
Rose said...After bringing my son home from the hospital 19 days ago after a C-Section my son stop breathing in his crib after having the water from my water bag still being in his lungs that the Dr didn't get out , even the Dr said I saved my son's life took an hr to bring him back to normal, S every since he been sleeping with me since I feel more safe that way and he is growing and doing so much better.
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