Although most babies are born healthy and develop normally, it is natural for parents to worry about the health and safety of a child. One of the greatest concerns for parents of infants is sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), sometimes called crib death.
Recent research found these unexplained deaths of otherwise healthy infants occur most often in children who share a bed with their parents. Some worry these new findings may demonize what has long been a bonding experience.
Sharing a bed a risk?
If you often sleep with your baby, will you remember to put him or her in a crib after you have been out for a few drinks or had a home party? Probably not.
The study found a strong link between drinking and SIDS. Among mothers whose babies died, 25 percent had more than two drinks during the preceding 24 hours. Only 2 percent of mothers in the control group had been drinking when they put their child to bed.
Also striking was that 54 percent of the babies had been sleeping with their parents, either in bed or on a sofa, immediately before death. Only 20 percent of mothers in the control group said they shared a bed or sofa when their child last slept.
Almost one-third of babies who died had been sleeping with a parent who had recently used drugs or alcohol, compared to 3 percent of healthy babies.
Researchers are not out to demonize sharing the parental bed ?only sharing it after consuming alcohol or drugs. Parents are also warned to always avoid situations where they might accidentally fall asleep with a young baby, such as cuddling on the sofa when tired.
