A call for help! (co-sleeping research needed)

(crossposted to MKB & MKP)

I found out at my LLL meeting tonight that the SIDS taskforce in town is
mounting an effort to have co-sleeping deemed a hotlineable offense (i.e.
you can be reported to the Division of Family Services *Child Abuse* hotline
for co-sleeping with your baby!). Anyway, as a Breastfeeding Coalition
member in my town I have been invited to attend a meeting of the SIDS
taskforce (along with the LLL leaders). I don't even know where to begin
addressing this proposed co-sleeping issue. My baby is five months old and
my time available to spend doing internet research is severely limited. I
really don't want to go to a meeting with only, "I know I've read
*somewhere* that co-sleeping is good."

So, I'm appealing to the informed participants of this newsgroup: can you
give me reputable sources that indicate that co-sleeping is *not* a SIDS
risk? I know there are articles out there as well about how breastfeeding
can help reduce the risk of SIDS and I would appreciate direction to those
as well.

--
Em
mama to L-baby, 5 months
(feeling a bit lazy asking others to do her legwork for her)

On Fri, 20 Feb 2004 04:28:01 GMT, "Em"
wrote:
(crossposted to MKB & MKP)
I found out at my LLL meeting tonight that the SIDS taskforce in town is
mounting an effort to have co-sleeping deemed a hotlineable offense (i.e.
you can be reported to the Division of Family Services *Child Abuse* hotline
for co-sleeping with your baby!). Anyway, as a Breastfeeding Coalition
member in my town I have been invited to attend a meeting of the SIDS
taskforce (along with the LLL leaders). I don't even know where to begin
addressing this proposed co-sleeping issue. My baby is five months old and
my time available to spend doing internet research is severely limited. I
really don't want to go to a meeting with only, "I know I've read
*somewhere* that co-sleeping is good."

OMG! I have no idea how to help you there. I can't imagine it would be
possible to have that come through. What, are they going around to
every country in the world where this is the norm and taking all those
babies away? Where do you live? What a shock!
Marie

On Fri, 20 Feb 2004 04:28:01 GMT, "Em"
wrote:
So, I'm appealing to the informed participants of this newsgroup: can you
give me reputable sources that indicate that co-sleeping is *not* a SIDS
risk? I know there are articles out there as well about how breastfeeding
can help reduce the risk of SIDS and I would appreciate direction to those
as well.

Posting again...
It occured to me that everytime I have seen someone argue against
cosleeping because of the risk of SIDS, they start mentioning
suffocating, getting caught between mattress and wall, etc. It's not
about SIDS, it's always about death from accidents.
Not that that is any help either but since there's no evidence that
cosleeping causes SIDS they usually use that other stuff so I'd look
out for it.
Here are some articles I found:
http://www.nichd.nih.gov/publications/pubs/sidsfact.htm
"Recently, scientific studies have demonstrated that bedsharing,
between mother and baby, can alter sleep patterns of the mother and
baby. These studies have led to speculation that bedsharing,
sometimes referred to as co-sleeping, may also reduce the risk of
SIDS. While bedsharing may have certain benefits (such as encouraging
breast feeding), there are not scientific studies demonstrating that
bedsharing reduces SIDS. Some studies actually suggest that
bedsharing, under certain conditions, may increase the risk of SIDS.
If mothers choose to sleep in the same beds with their babies, care
should be taken to avoid using soft sleep surfaces. Quilts, blankets,
pillows, comforters, or other similar soft materials should not be
placed under the baby. The bedsharer should not smoke or use
substances such as alcohol or drugs which may impair arousal. It is
also important to be aware that unlike cribs, which are designed to
meet safety standards for infants, adult beds are not so designed and
may carry a risk of accidental entrapment and suffocation."
"There is some evidence to suggest that breast feeding might reduce
the risk of SIDS. A few studies have found SIDS to be less common in
infants who have been breast fed. This may be because breast milk can
provide protection from some infections that can trigger sudden death
in infants."
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/20...?from=storyrhs
"Research indicated that babies sleeping in the same room as a
committed caregiver were half as likely to die of sudden infant death
syndrome as a baby sleeping alone in a room, he said.
Babies who shared beds had fewer and shorter apnoeas, or suspensions
of respiration, in the deepest stages of sleep than those who slept
alone."
http://www.nd.edu/~prinfo/news/2002/9-10z.html
"In Japan, which has the lowest rates of infant mortality and SIDS,
about 90% of parents sleep with their babies."

There is an anthropologist (I think that's what she is) and I think
her name is Karen Dettweiler? I couldn't find anything on her so I
must be wrong, but she has said when mother and baby sleep together,
their breathing patterns synchronizes.

I hope some of this might help.
Marie

So, I'm appealing to the informed participants of this newsgroup: can you
give me reputable sources that indicate that co-sleeping is *not* a SIDS
risk?

You want the research of James McKenna, which is written about extensively by
Meredith Small in the book _Our Babies, Ourselves_ (there is a chapter
specifically about sleep). Unfortunately, I have no idea how to go about
finding actual abstracts or the like on the 'net, but perhaps someone here
does. But go get the Small book and use her annotations.

If "reputable sources" for your purposes includes pretty much anything written
by a pediatrician ;-) then you can use Dr. Sears and Dr. Jay Gordon. Both have
websites that may be useful. (Don't recall the address of Gordon's, but Sears
is www.askdrsears.com)

Should you be confronted with stories of cosleeping babies' deaths, remember
that in almost all reports it turns out that the baby died not of SIDS but of
suffocation, that the adult involved was drunk or drugged, and that the baby
was sleeping on a couch or other unsafe place rather than in an actual bed. If
you look for those elements in any evidence that the proponents of this
nonsense have, you will probably find them.

Holly
Mom to Camden, 3yo
EDD #2 6/8/04

"Em" wrote in message
news:l1gZb.362162$na.548892@attbi_s04...
(crossposted to MKB & MKP)

I found out at my LLL meeting tonight that the SIDS taskforce in town is
mounting an effort to have co-sleeping deemed a hotlineable offense (i.e.
you can be reported to the Division of Family Services *Child Abuse*
hotline
for co-sleeping with your baby!). Anyway, as a Breastfeeding Coalition
member in my town I have been invited to attend a meeting of the SIDS
taskforce (along with the LLL leaders). I don't even know where to begin
addressing this proposed co-sleeping issue. My baby is five months old and
my time available to spend doing internet research is severely limited. I
really don't want to go to a meeting with only, "I know I've read
*somewhere* that co-sleeping is good."

So, I'm appealing to the informed participants of this newsgroup: can you
give me reputable sources that indicate that co-sleeping is *not* a SIDS
risk? I know there are articles out there as well about how breastfeeding
can help reduce the risk of SIDS and I would appreciate direction to those
as well.

--
Em
mama to L-baby, 5 months
(feeling a bit lazy asking others to do her legwork for her)

It is all a matter of cultural perspective. In some cultures NOT cosleeping
is considered "child-abuse" so...they need to work on promoting SAFE
co-sleeping practices, not ethnocentric rules/laws!

"Yet in the majority of cultures in the world (and in Western cultures until
perhaps 200 years ago), babies sleep in the same bed with their parents,
typically until they are weaned, a pattern often called cosleeping. Such an
arrangement has many supportive reasons, including lack of alternative space
for the infant to sleep in some cases. More often, cosleeping seems to
reflect a basic collectivist value, one in which contact and interdependence
rather than separateness are emphasized (Harker & Super, 1995). Morelli and
her colleagues (1992) report that the Mayan mothers they interviewed, most
of whom practice cosleeping, considered the U.S. practice of separate
sleeping as tantamount to child neglect. They are shocked and disbelieving
when told that U.S. infants often sleep in a separate room, with no one
nearby.
Morelli also reports that bedtime among the Mayan families she studied
was rarely a time of discord or difficulty between parent and child, as it
so often is in Western families in which infants and toddlers sleep
separately from the adults. Mayan children also rarely used stuffed animals
or other "transitional objects" to comfort themselves as they fell asleep,
while this is common among Western infants and toddlers. Thus, the cultural
assumptions affect not only what we consider "normal" and "right" for
children; they shape the interaction between parent and child, including the
nature of their common disputes or struggles." (From TextBook: The
Developing Child-Helen Bee)

"Lucy" wrote in message
news:MZiZb.575555$ts4.214896@pd7tw3no...

"Em" wrote in message
news:l1gZb.362162$na.548892@attbi_s04...
(crossposted to MKB & MKP)

I found out at my LLL meeting tonight that the SIDS taskforce in town is
mounting an effort to have co-sleeping deemed a hotlineable offense
(i.e.
you can be reported to the Division of Family Services *Child Abuse*
hotline
for co-sleeping with your baby!).

Aw, for cryin' out loud.

If they do this, they'd better make sure that smoking and formula feeding
are also hotlineable offenses, because those have at least equally strong
associations with SIDS.

(No offense intended to the moms who must use formula, but it *is* a scary
truth, see:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/q...&dopt=Abstract

or

http://tinyurl.com/2njnp

Also

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/q... 04&dopt=Books

or

http://tinyurl.com/2jvbt

Now please, do NOT turn this into a formula vs breast debate. This is a
'SIDS safety issues' thing. If co-sleeping is no more dangerous than having
baby sleep alone in his own room (and it is not, if you look at the
numbers), then it should not be "hotlineable". How about putting baby to
sleep on his tummy? Should THAT be hotlineable? Should women be turned into
CPS for putting baby to sleep on his tummy? How *about* smoking? That's
known to increase the risk of SIDS. This is stupid. But as long as they're
being stupid, how about they be *consistent* and stupid.

--angela

Great idea....her name is Kathy Dettwyler. Check out this site for some
references on SIDS and all sorts research pertaining to BFing.

http://www.prairienet.org/laleche/detrefs.html

Karen

There is an anthropologist (I think that's what she is) and I think
her name is Karen Dettweiler? I couldn't find anything on her so I
must be wrong, but she has said when mother and baby sleep together,
their breathing patterns synchronizes.

Where in the name of God do you live?
My personal opinion "**** them", pardon my language.
If that's the case, lets report parents who drink even in small
amounts
smoke, take cough medicine, cook their eggs runny, feed their kids
beef
because SOMETIMES kids die from these things.
Sheesh
"Em" wrote in message
news:l1gZb.362162$na.548892@attbi_s04...
(crossposted to MKB & MKP)

I found out at my LLL meeting tonight that the SIDS taskforce in
town is
mounting an effort to have co-sleeping deemed a hotlineable offense
(i.e.
you can be reported to the Division of Family Services *Child Abuse*
hotline
for co-sleeping with your baby!). Anyway, as a Breastfeeding
Coalition
member in my town I have been invited to attend a meeting of the
SIDS
taskforce (along with the LLL leaders). I don't even know where to
begin
addressing this proposed co-sleeping issue. My baby is five months
old and
my time available to spend doing internet research is severely
limited. I
really don't want to go to a meeting with only, "I know I've read
*somewhere* that co-sleeping is good."

So, I'm appealing to the informed participants of this newsgroup:
can you
give me reputable sources that indicate that co-sleeping is *not* a
SIDS
risk? I know there are articles out there as well about how
breastfeeding
can help reduce the risk of SIDS and I would appreciate direction to
those
as well.

--
Em
mama to L-baby, 5 months
(feeling a bit lazy asking others to do her legwork for her)

[piggybacking soory]

Maybe this statement from the UNICEF UK Baby Friendly initiative would
help:

http://www.babyfriendly.org.uk/maili...e_20040216.htm

Sidheag
DS Colin Oct 27 2003

"Em" wrote in message news:l1gZb.362162$na.548892@attbi_s04...
(crossposted to MKB & MKP)

I found out at my LLL meeting tonight that the SIDS taskforce in town is
mounting an effort to have co-sleeping deemed a hotlineable offense (i.e.
you can be reported to the Division of Family Services *Child Abuse* hotline
for co-sleeping with your baby!). Anyway, as a Breastfeeding Coalition
member in my town I have been invited to attend a meeting of the SIDS
taskforce (along with the LLL leaders). I don't even know where to begin
addressing this proposed co-sleeping issue. My baby is five months old and
my time available to spend doing internet research is severely limited. I
really don't want to go to a meeting with only, "I know I've read
*somewhere* that co-sleeping is good."

So, I'm appealing to the informed participants of this newsgroup: can you
give me reputable sources that indicate that co-sleeping is *not* a SIDS
risk? I know there are articles out there as well about how breastfeeding
can help reduce the risk of SIDS and I would appreciate direction to those
as well.


One of the posters mentioned culture factor for cosleeping. In my case
I'm having to cosleep because that's the ONLY way my dd will go to
sleep. I tried every trick there is to make her sleep in the crib but
she just won't. For some moms like me, cosleeping is not a choice,
it's the only option. I love her dearly but honestly, I would've been
lot happier if she sleeps in the crib but she doesn't. The minute I
move an inch away from her, she wakes up no matter what time of the
night it is. I take all precautions to avoid SIDS but there's no way I
can do without cosleeping.