Co-sleeping – FSID and coroners put babies at risk.

Sleeping with baby can be deadly, parents are warned

http://www.fsid.org.uk/threeinabed-news.html

There is no evidence of increased risk to babies who bed-share if their parents follow simple safety guidelines, don’t smoke and don’t drink or take drugs. And there is lots of research by experts such as Helen Ball, Peter Blair and James McKenna that lead to the conclusion that bed-sharing is as safe as anything else.

The weirdest thing is that FSID funds the studies by Blair that have found no increased risk for ‘safe’ bed-sharing – so why do they continue in their stance that it is such a terrible thing to do?

http://www.dur.ac.uk/sleep.lab/staff/ 
http://www.nd.edu/~jmckenn1/lab/
http://www.babyfriendly.org.uk/items/item_detail.asp?item=577

Advice like this is dangerous – last time this advice was given more babies died because their exhausted parents fell asleep with them on the sofa.

If you follow some simple safety guidelines, don’t drink or smoke then it is as safe as anywhere else, and has enormous benefits in making breastfeeding easier and helping babies and parents sleep better.

Besides, feeding a baby formula increases the risk of illness and death but it is a normal, acceptable way to feed a baby. Parents must be supported in their choice of how to feed their baby AND where it should sleep. They need accurate information, and support, rather than unscientific scaremongering and criticism for their choices. 

Related posts:

“risks for babies whose parents did not smoke or consume alcohol or drugs but who did sleep with their baby were not different from that for babies in a separate cot” Coroner blames co-sleeping, but what about the smoking , drugs and alcohol? When to bed-share with your baby? Babies – film Avoid unsafe ‘bag’ slings What do you really need for your new baby?