co-sleeping and SIDS

I think she is reacting to the grief of losing a baby, isn't there a
pattern to bereavment that includes anger somewhere along the line. I
think she is angry that this has happened ot her and wants someone to
take part of the blame. Poor woman, what an awful thing to happen,
I'd tread lightly with a letter becuase she won't see anything she
doesn't want to see with any sense of proportion for a while yet.

You are totally right; that is why I feel a little uneasy about writing, and
yet I feel there are some things that need to be said on this issue--things the
author of the article really should have said, if the paper weren't so sloppy.
I don't want to attack her at all.

Leslie

(Leslie) wrote in message ...
I am thinking about writing a letter about the benefits of monitoring your
baby's breathing by sleeping with him. I wonder if anyone can direct me to a
link that gives positive stats regarding co-sleeping and SIDS and to the
research on a baby's breathing being improved by sleep sharing.

Please do not lie to people about something this important!
The most recent research is quite consistent that co-sleeping results
in HIGHER death rates, not lower.

For example, "Where Should Infants Sleep? A Comparison of Risk for
Suffocation of Infants Sleeping in Cribs, Adult Beds, and Other
Sleeping Locations" by N. J. Scheers, PhD, George W. Rutherford, MS
and James S. Kemp, MD (published in Oct. 2003):
"The risk of suffocation was approximately 40 times higher for
infants in adult beds compared with those in cribs."
and later:
"Reported deaths of infants who suffocated on sleep surfaces other
than those designed for infants are increasing. The most
conservative estimate showed that the risk of suffocation
increased
by 20-fold when infants were placed to sleep in adult beds rather
than in cribs. The public should be clearly informed of the
attendant
risks."

This is in addition to the 1999 landmark study by the US Consumer
Product Safety Commission.

This study was published in the peer-reviewed journal Pediatrics.
you can read more he
http://pediatrics.aappublications.or...ract/112/4/883

The study above dealt with suffocation, but SIDS shows similar
pattern.
For example: "Sleep Environment and the Risk of Sudden Infant Death
Syndrome in an Urban Population: The Chicago Infant Mortality Study"
published the previous month in Pedicatrics. It found:
"In a multivariate model, several factors remained significant:
prone sleep position, soft surface, pillow use, bed sharing other
than with parent(s) alone, and not using a pacifier."
Obviously, co-sleeping involves pillow use and soft surface.
More details he
http://pediatrics.aappublications.or.../111/5/S1/1207

I would also strong suggest you look at these studies:
1. Unsafe Sleep Practices and an Analysis of Bedsharing Among Infants
Dying Suddenly and Unexpectedly: Results of a Four-Year,
Population-Based, Death-Scene Investigation Study of Sudden Infant
Death Syndrome and Related Deaths
http://pediatrics.aappublications.or...ode=pediatrics
"Infants ... were found [dead] on a sleep surface not designed for
infants in 75.9%. ... A shared sleep surface was the site of
death
in 47.1%."

2. Risk Factors for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Following the
Prevention Campaign in New Zealand: A Prospective Study
http://pediatrics.aappublications.or...ode=pediatrics
"Bed sharing was also associated with an increased risk of SIDS."





Joshua Levy

But suffocation includes overlying. The studies you cite don't distinguish
between infants who suffocate in sofa cushions from SIDS victims. That isn't
the same thing. Every study with which I am familiar finds lower SIDS rates
among babies sharing safe sleep with their parents.

Leslie

In article ,
says...
I read an article in the paper this morning about a two-week-old who died of
SIDS. His mother is using the tragedy as a springboard for a campaign
requiring by law that 1) all parents be CPR certified before leaving the
hospital and 2) that all parents of infants must have a baby monitor that will
alert them if the baby stops breathing.

1. We want to be regulating who can be parents?

2. Those monitors statistically do absolutely nothing WTR SIDS
prevention.

I am thinking about writing a letter about the benefits of monitoring your
baby's breathing by sleeping with him. I wonder if anyone can direct me to a
link that gives positive stats regarding co-sleeping and SIDS and to the
research on a baby's breathing being improved by sleep sharing.

Jury's out on the protective effects of SIDS and co-sleeping, and
dragging that into it may get someone to try to criminalize co-
sleeping.

Michelle
Flutist

--
Drift on a river, That flows through my arms
Drift as I'm singing to you
I see you smiling, So peaceful and calm
And holding you, I'm smiling, too
Here in my arms, Safe from all harm
Holding you, I'm smiling, too
-- For Xander [9/22/98 - 2/23/99]

In article ,
says...
(Leslie) wrote in message ...
I am thinking about writing a letter about the benefits of monitoring your
baby's breathing by sleeping with him. I wonder if anyone can direct me to a
link that gives positive stats regarding co-sleeping and SIDS and to the
research on a baby's breathing being improved by sleep sharing.

Please do not lie to people about something this important!

Pot, let me introduce you to Kettle...

The most recent research is quite consistent that co-sleeping results
in HIGHER death rates, not lower.

For example, "Where Should Infants Sleep? A Comparison of Risk for
Suffocation of Infants Sleeping in Cribs, Adult Beds, and Other
Sleeping Locations" by N. J. Scheers, PhD, George W. Rutherford, MS
and James S. Kemp, MD (published in Oct. 2003):
"The risk of suffocation was approximately 40 times higher for
infants in adult beds compared with those in cribs."

Start repeating to yourself "SIDS is not suffocation." and don't stop
until it gets through your skull.

Michelle
Flutist

--
Drift on a river, That flows through my arms
Drift as I'm singing to you
I see you smiling, So peaceful and calm
And holding you, I'm smiling, too
Here in my arms, Safe from all harm
Holding you, I'm smiling, too
-- For Xander [9/22/98 - 2/23/99]

(Leslie) wrote in message ...


Not a paper you'd want to cite, but the 10/03 issue of Pediatrics had
a study showing that the risk of accidental suffocation was 40 times
higher for babies in adult beds than babies in cribs. I read the
paper and its conclusions seemed valid. But the Bug is still in bed
with us -- I figure you're more likely to get hit by a car if you take
a walk, but that doesn't mean taking walks is bad for you.

Good analogy. But of course suffocation and SIDS aren't the same thing, are
they? A baby in bed with parents who practice safe co-sleeping isn't going to
suffocate.

Well, to continue the analogy, if you cross with the light and look
both ways, does that mean you won't get hit by a car? And you're
right about the difference -- SIDS means that after careful
investigation no cause of death was found, and suffocation means
suffocation.

Actually they found that about half the suffocations in adult beds
were entrapment, where the baby got caught between the bed and the
wall or bedframe. Only 18% were "overlying", and they acknowledged
that oftentimes that designation is suspect. The authors did take a
subtle potshot at Dr. Sears in their last sentence: "Suggestions from
some (Sears citation) that the risk associated with falling and
entrapment might be lessened by, for example, pushing an adult bed
near the wall are of unproven efficacy, have been known to result in
infant deaths (Pediatrics 1999;103(5)), and should be discouraged".

I think that if we're going to be honest, we have to admit that most
of us who co-sleep choose to do so not primarily because we believe it
to be safer than crib sleeping but because we believe that co-sleeping
has other benefits. As a co-sleeping mama and halfway trained
pediatrician, I have to admit that the current state of medical and
epidemiological evidence appears to show that crib sleeping is safer
in terms of SIDS and suffocation. The research that's been done is
very limited, and more comprehensive research may show differently,
but that's what the most reputable evidence so far seems to show.
Partisans of co-sleeping can always cherry-pick research that supports
their position, which is what Mothering magazine and Sears do. But I
think it's far more honest to admit that we are choosing to reap (as
yet unproven) intangible benefits at the cost of a small increase in
risk of an unlikely tragedy. The only way around that conclusion is
to selectively choose certain studies that support the outcome you're
looking for, which is never a good way to go about scientific or
medical research.

Kate
and the Bug, June 8 2003

Joshua Levy wrote:
(Leslie) wrote in message ...

I am thinking about writing a letter about the benefits of monitoring your
baby's breathing by sleeping with him. I wonder if anyone can direct me to a
link that gives positive stats regarding co-sleeping and SIDS and to the
research on a baby's breathing being improved by sleep sharing.


Please do not lie to people about something this important!

That's out of line. If anyone is lying, it's not Leslie.

The most recent research is quite consistent that co-sleeping results
in HIGHER death rates, not lower.

No, the current research is not on *co-sleeping* as APers practice it.
It's not just a baby sleeping on another surface, with or without an
adult, perhaps with a child or an intoxicated person, or on a couch with
loose cushions. Deliberate co-sleeping outcomes have not been studied.
Also, at least one of Dr. Kemp's studies, widely touted, included only
African-American babies (http://www.slu.edu/readstory/newsinfo/2154.)
Until there's a agreed-upon definition of what constitutes overlaying
(and who's to say the baby wasn't gone before the parent rolled onto
it), SIDS, and suffocation, the research is largely meaningless. Except
to fear-mongers, people who like to malign attachment parenting, and
crib manufacturers.


Emily

2. Those monitors statistically do absolutely nothing WTR SIDS
prevention.

A lot of people on here have said that, but does anyone have a link to the
studies that prove it? I would love to include that.

Leslie

(Joshua Levy) wrote in message . com...
(Leslie) wrote in message ...

Please do not lie to people about something this important!
The most recent research is quite consistent that co-sleeping results
in HIGHER death rates, not lower.

I don't have the info at hand, but I know that more than one of those
studies had serious flaws in the methodology, and have been debunked.

I'll look around for the info.

Cathy Weeks
Mommy to Kivi Alexis 12/01

Jury's out on the protective effects of SIDS and co-sleeping, and
dragging that into it may get someone to try to criminalize co-
sleeping.

Michelle
Flutist


going to be less than serious here
Hehehe. Maybe I am just kind of grumpy today, but it seems that there is
always someone out there who needs to find someone or something to blame for
what could be called a tragic, but probably unpreventable death. SIDS happens.
It is sad. I don't want to be too harsh on the woman who wants mandatory baby
monitors and cpr certification for parents. But it is ridiculous, really.
and now I am going to be sarcastic... I can just see the co-sleeping
investigation squad come busting through the front door at 3 a.m. -- "AHA!
Caught you! Now we are going to drag you off to prison with all the child
molesters and drunk drivers and drug dealers because you were SLEEPING IN BED
WITH YOUR BABY!!!" Ugh. I seriously need some caffeine! ;-)

Amy
jumping off my somewhat battered soapbox and going back to nursing my
eternally-hungry baby
mom to Patricia 5-12-99
Christina 3-21-03 -- breastfed, cloth diapered and co-sleeping with mom every
night since birth (so sue me! :-P)