# Co-sleeping/SIDS statistics



## desamom (May 23, 2008)

My sister has now been told twice (once from a student midwife and now from her family doctor) that sleeping with her baby INCREASES the risk of SIDS.

Everything I have been told and have read says just the opposite.

I assume there are just two schools of thought out there, but I am wondering if anyone has specific studies/stats/references that support the argument that sleeping with your baby actually DECREASES the risk of SIDS.

Thanks in advance!


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## AliceGeorge (Nov 10, 2008)

There have been articles about it in Mothering recently, and Dr. Sears' Attachment Parenting talks a bit about it. I don't have anything more specific than that, but I'm very surprised a student midwife said that. I think there are two definite schools of thought, but from what I understand, the research that said it increases instances of SIDS never took into account the fact that some of the parents were on drugs or sleeping on chairs, things like that, which are not recommended. They kind of skewed the results.

Hope this helps.

Alice


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## fruitfulmomma (Jun 8, 2002)

Mothering's Sleep Reprint -
http://mothering.com/shop/index.php?...oduct_id=29931

Also last issue of Mothering had some articles.

Dr. Sears Book
http://www.amazon.com/Sids-Parents-U.../dp/0316779539

And I am a little confused as to why they believe bed sharing increases risk of SIDS. I thought they were worried about suffocation???

Anyway, the reason Dr. Sears and others believe it decreases risk is because when the mother and child are sleeping together moms body helps regulate baby's heart beat and breathing patterns. Even the APA (I think, or some such beast) has stated the co-sleeping (that is sharing a room, not a sleeping surface) decreases risk of SIDS and recommends it.


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## Gena 22 (Jul 3, 2008)

Here's my $0.02 on the subject, since SIDS is a soap box issue of mine: I believe co-sleeping in abstract may decrease SIDS in a number of ways. The mother is right there to comfort or care for her babe should any breathing disruption occur, more likely to breastfeed which also deceases SIDS, etc. You've probably read these theories.

BUT . . . I firmly believe that SIDS is caused by mattress out-gassing. Flame retardants are required in all mattresses, but even more so in crib mattresses. Arsenic and other heavy metals are used as flame retardants. Ordinary household fungus eats away at these chemicals, letting out toxic gas. That's why the "Back to Sleep" campaign has been successful. The toxic gasses are strongest right near the mattress. When babies sleep on their back, their breathing is further from the mattress. But the danger and gas is still there, and out-gassing occurs in adult mattresses too. It's not known to be a danger to adults, but can be to young babies. So co-sleeping may decrease the SIDS risk (since the flame retardant chemicals levels are lower than in crib mattresses) but not eliminate it.

I recommend looking into the toxic gas theory and mattress wrapping. By covering your mattress in a gas impermeable wrap, which is pretty cheap, you can reduce the chance of SIDS to 0%. There have been no SIDS deaths on properly wrapped mattresses. And you can let your babe sleep in the position they are most comfortable. My twins have almost always slept on their sides or tummys.

PS - There was a recent study claiming co-sleeping increases baby suffocation deaths. This is totally bogus. It's in part inebriated parents, and mostly a change in definitions which looks like an increase in #s.


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## Harmony08 (Feb 4, 2009)

Sleeping with Your Baby: A Parent's Guide to Cosleeping by James J. Mckenna

He has other articles here http://www.naturalchild.com/james_mckenna/ Take a look. One is specifically about SIDS.

And here is more info from him http://www.nd.edu/~jmckenn1/lab/faq.html


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## fruitfulmomma (Jun 8, 2002)

Quote:

PS - There was a recent study claiming co-sleeping increases baby suffocation deaths. This is totally bogus. It's in part inebriated parents, and mostly a change in definitions which looks like an increase in #s.
Absolutely! The last study I read which was touted as a reason no parent should ever bedshare was based off of a neighborhood in the inner-city where a group of parents who were known to be high-risk were studied. These families were known to have issues with drugs, alcohol, smoking, and domestic abuse.


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## fruitfulmomma (Jun 8, 2002)

One more resource...

http://www.mothering.com/interactive...osleeping.html


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## desamom (May 23, 2008)

Thanks everyone! This has been really helpful.


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## the_lissa (Oct 30, 2004)

I can't believe a student midwife told her that. My midwives encourage cosleeping.


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## desamom (May 23, 2008)

Yeah it was weird. It was a few hours after the birth and my sister said to the midwife "I can sleep with my baby, right?" and the midwife said "Of course, you can do anything you want, but just know that sleeping with your baby increases the risk of SIDS." At that point I said "actually I don't think that's true..." and she cut me off saying "Yes it is. A new study just came out." I let it go at that point b/c I knew my sister didn't want me to get in a big argument right after her birth!


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## fruitfulmomma (Jun 8, 2002)

Quote:

At that point I said "actually I don't think that's true..." and she cut me off saying "Yes it is. A new study just came out.
Hmph... If it was that important to the midwife, shouldn't she have said something before the birth, before your sister even asked?

My midwife used her crib for clean laundry and her assistant this time said she tells all her clients that the only piece of baby equipment they need is a king sized bed. Even my two births in the hospital, I bedshared with my babies. I wasn't even allowed to put the first baby down for hours after the birth or else they would take her to the nursery to keep her warm.


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## ramama (Apr 13, 2007)

SIDS is alternatively called "crib death" for a reason! I think, also, that when a baby dies in a crib, they try to find other causes of death before saying "SIDS." When a baby died in the parents bed, they automatically jump to over-laying or SIDS. They don't try as hard to find another cause.


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## mama516/419 (Feb 15, 2009)

People used to tell me all the time bed sharing causes sids and I would ask them how and theyd say oh baby can get wrapped in the sheets or between the mattress and wall or you could roll on top of them and I would say suffication isnt Sids - Sids is an unexplained sudden death , where as we know how suffacating leads to death.
Co sleeping saved my DDs life - she is a Sids survivor thanks to the fact her mommy was there to help her.







:







:


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## Harmony08 (Feb 4, 2009)

If your sister is still scared the Respisense is a comforting little tool. Give it a google.


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## BRmama (Mar 18, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mama516/419* 
People used to tell me all the time bed sharing causes sids and I would ask them how and theyd say oh baby can get wrapped in the sheets or between the mattress and wall or you could roll on top of them and I would say suffication isnt Sids - Sids is an unexplained sudden death , where as we know how suffacating leads to death.
Co sleeping saved my DDs life - she is a Sids survivor thanks to the fact her mommy was there to help her.







:







:

Wow! That's so cool that you saved your dd's life! If you don't mind me asking...how did you do that? I always have studies on how co sleeping is beneficial because dh I get a lot of grief from my family about it all the time, because we co sleep with my ds. It's always good to hear positive stories about how co sleeping helped in one way or another.


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## 3-StarSystem (Oct 26, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *desperatemommytobe* 
Wow! That's so cool that you saved your dd's life! If you don't mind me asking...how did you do that? I always have studies on how co sleeping is beneficial because dh I get a lot of grief from my family about it all the time, because we co sleep with my ds. It's always good to hear positive stories about how co sleeping helped in one way or another.










I know I wasn't asked, but we are also another case where cosleeping literally saved our child's life.

My DP was sleeping with my son (who was 11 months old at the time) who suddenly had audibly labored breathing loud enough to partially wake up my DP. Eventually my DP woke up fully when he realized that the sound had stopped entirely because my DS's breathing had stopped entirely and his heartbeat was barely there. He performed AR, called for me and I called 911.

DS is fine although he was in a coma for a couple of days and did require life support, it was not a common SIDS related issue (medication toxicity but it was initially thought to be a brain hemorrhage due to current medical history) but it WAS unexpected and unprovoked and had my DP not been sleeping with him he would not be here. It's that simple.

Plus, I have another severely medically vulnerable son and you bet your butt I cosleep with him- even when in the hospital. Cosleeping has prevented entanglement in cords and potential strangulation, potentially fatal bleeds due to ripping tubes out (and extremely low platelets) and it's also allowed me to be aware of acutely dangerous medical situations that required immediate attention HOURS before the nurse was next scheduled to check in. And it wasn't anything that was able to be monitored via machine either. (In fact machines missed at least one of the problems that arose.) No complaints from hospital staff about cosleeping that's for sure!

It is just my biggest pet peeve when responsible cosleepers get lumped in with irresponsible cosleepers. Cosleeping is truly such a blessing and such an innately life-affirming and SAVING practice.


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## BRmama (Mar 18, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *3-StarSystem* 
I know I wasn't asked, but we are also another case where cosleeping literally saved our child's life.

My DP was sleeping with my son (who was 11 months old at the time) who suddenly had audibly labored breathing loud enough to partially wake up my DP. Eventually my DP woke up fully when he realized that the sound had stopped entirely because my DS's breathing had stopped entirely and his heartbeat was barely there. He performed AR, called for me and I called 911.

DS is fine although he was in a coma for a couple of days and did require life support, it was not a common SIDS related issue (medication toxicity but it was initially thought to be a brain hemorrhage due to current medical history) but it WAS unexpected and unprovoked and had my DP not been sleeping with him he would not be here. It's that simple.

Plus, I have another severely medically vulnerable son and you bet your butt I cosleep with him- even when in the hospital. Cosleeping has prevented entanglement in cords and potential strangulation, potentially fatal bleeds due to ripping tubes out (and extremely low platelets) and it's also allowed me to be aware of acutely dangerous medical situations that required immediate attention HOURS before the nurse was next scheduled to check in. And it wasn't anything that was able to be monitored via machine either. (In fact machines missed at least one of the problems that arose.) No complaints from hospital staff about cosleeping that's for sure!

It is just my biggest pet peeve when responsible cosleepers get lumped in with irresponsible cosleepers. Cosleeping is truly such a blessing and such an innately life-affirming and SAVING practice.

Wow! Thanks for sharing! I love to hear real stories out there like yours where co sleeping has saved the dc somehow. I also co sleep with my son and fortunately have not had to deal with anything like that, but since we decided to cosleep with him (two weeks after he was born), life has been a lot better. We all function good because we all get enough sleep. I can't say wether my future babies will have any trouble like that but dh and I already made the decision to cosleep with all of our kids.


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## vbactivist (Oct 4, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *3-StarSystem* 
No complaints from hospital staff about cosleeping that's for sure!

.

I just wanted to add that after my daughter had open heart surgery at 5.5 months, the nurses in the PICU encouraged me to cosleep, as soon as possible, if that is what would keep my dd happy







I was really surprised by that.


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## AVeryGoodYear (Mar 31, 2009)

My MIL is trying to convince us to stop co-sleeping with our 7 week old daughter, and my husband is on her side with it. We've come to the compromise where our daughter spends the first part of the night in her bassinet -- and from the first time she feeds until when we wake up for the day, she sleeps in the bed between us.

I'm REALLY surprised that a midwifery student would say something like that. I think a lot of people must confuse SIDS and suffocation.


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## Devaskyla (Oct 5, 2003)

Quote:

Co sleeping saved my DDs life - she is a Sids survivor thanks to the fact her mommy was there to help her.
Same here, both ds1 & ds3 would probably be dead if it weren't for co-sleeping.


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## fruitfulmomma (Jun 8, 2002)

I have been thinking about this and am wondering, this was a student midwife so where was the midwife overseeing her? Did she hear her and if she did what was her response?


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## BRmama (Mar 18, 2008)

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